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All Aboard!
THE POLAR EXPRESS
On November 10, 2004, this holiday favorite steams into theaters nationwide as the holiday film event of the year! The Polar Express film, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis, brings with it a whole new series of books that take their inspiration from Chris Van Allsburg's classic Christmas story.
Since its publication in 1985, Chris Van Allsburg's THE POLAR EXPRESS has touched the hearts of millions of readers, young and old. Whether viewed on the big screen or the printed page, THE POLAR EXPRESS is a heartwarming story about the power of belief that resonates across generations and cultures. We invite you to settle in and take a ride on the Polar Express -- it's a journey you won't soon forget.
NEA's Read Across America, Warner Bros. Pictures and Houghton Mifflin invite teachers and students to participate in The Polar Express Reading Challenge. Click here for information and materials.
© Copyright 2004 by Chris Van Allsburg. Reprinted with permission by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Awards:
1986 Caldecott Medal Book
New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year
ALA Notable Book for Children
Booklist Editors' Choice
Horn Book Fanfare Selection
Reading Rainbow Review Book
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Excerpt:
"On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and silently. I was listening for a sound -- a sound a friend had told me I'd never hear -- the ringing bells of Santa's sleigh. 'There is no Santa,' my friend had insisted, but I knew he was wrong. Late that night I did hear sounds, though not of ringing bells. From outside came the sounds of hissing steam and squeaking metal. I looked through my window and saw a train standing perfectly still in from of my house."
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Excerpted from THE POLAR EXPRESS © Copyright 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg. Reprinted with permission by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Discussion Questions:
1. The boy’s friend told him that Santa doesn’t exist, but the boy continues to believe.Think of a time in your own life that you have experienced this situation. How does it feel to keep firm when other people tell you you are wrong?
2. Notice how Chris Van Allsburg adds to his descriptions of the train ride to the North Pole by comparing one thing to another (give some examples). How does this kind of descriptive language add to the story for you?
3. The boy can ask Santa Claus for anything in the world.Why do you think he chooses a simple bell?
4. Why can the boy and his sister hear the bell while their parents cannot?
5. Why can the boy still hear the bell as an adult, while his sister and friends cannot?
6. What do you think Chris Van Allsburg wants the bell to represent?
Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.
Excerpted from THE POLAR EXPRESS © Copyright 1985 by Chris Van Allsburg. Reprinted with permission by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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