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saidtheraven 's review for:
The Polar Express
by Chris Van Allsburg
The first thing that came to mind when I chose this book was the movie. I loved the movie. It’s perfect to watch on Christmas and brings back that good old Christmas spirit. Also a good advantage of the movie as compared to the book is that the movie offers more of a “lengthy” adventure than the book. I would still choose to read the book first, introduce it to the child, but watching the movie afterwards is like a good incentive. Anyways, what I really liked about this book was that the pictures where nice and big. Usually kids, the smaller ones, are attracted to the visuals, and I liked the pictures covered almost the entire two pages. The description, although beautiful, (the “ringing bells”, the journey through dark and snow), I felt it could not go without the pictures on the side. They complimented each other and the pictures added a mystical feeling. They were rich and almost blurry; making it feel as it was just a wistful dream. My favorite part was the when he asked for what he wanted, “I knew that I could have any gift I could imagine. But the thing I wanted the most for Christmas was not inside Santa’s giant bag.” It was a small humble request and a little reminder that Christmas doesn’t always have to be about the lavish gifts but the power or believing. I really loved reading this book. The ending makes me tear up as much as it did in the movie. I hadn’t read this book prior to watching it, nor was I familiar to it. But it’s book that I would even consider reading it to my kids. The ending is the best part, simply beautiful.