To this day, I genuinely can’t believe that I didn’t know about The Polar Express until I had seen the movie! For someone into all things Christmas and festive, I’m a little shocked that it took me this long. The Polar Express movie has become a big part of my household and is responsible for a lot of our beloved Christmas traditions, and I can’t wait to share the wonderful book it’s based on with my youngest when he’s just a bit older.

After watching the movie when it came out, I learned that it was based on a book. It didn’t take me long to get a copy of my own, and I quickly saw why it was so popular. While I don’t think I was ever in any danger of losing my spirit of Christmas, this 32-page Christmas classic by Chris Van Allsburg is the perfect antidote for someone who is. This beautiful story earned him a Caldecott Medal (among other well-deserved prestigious awards) for its stunning illustrations and it made the bestseller list four years running.

In a nutshell, the Polar Express centres around an unnamed young boy who is beginning to doubt in the magic of Christmas. Unexpectedly, he’s taken on a magical train ride to the north pole aboard the Polar Express. Along the way, he gets into all kinds of trouble and adventures, before finally meeting Santa Claus himself and regaining his faith in the spirit of Christmas.

While this overarching story remains true to the book, Robert Zemeckis, the director of the film version, did add a few new characters (for example the hobo and many of the children) and make a few changes to the story. The original book was fairly short at only 32 pages, so this had to be done to flesh out the film and keep audiences entertained for its 1h 40min runtime.

There’s no denying that the film version is the more exciting of the two. The Glacier Gulch, Ice Lake and Caribou scenes are filled with excitement and always have my kids —and admittedly myself— at the edge of our seats, and the characters that Zemeckis created for the movie are filled with life and adventure; however, none of it would have been possible without Chris Van Allsburg laying the groundwork with his beautiful and inspirational Polar Express story.

It’s a beautiful book, both in story and illustration, that appeals to all ages and can help even the biggest Christmas-cynic regain a bit of their faith in the spirit of Christmas.

10/10 must-read!