Tuesday Tales..Ring, Ring..Can you hear that?

Today I am guest posting again for AVT Coach's Tuesday Tales and I am excited to present one of my favorite Christmas stories, "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg.

A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa.

It is our tradition to read this one out loud as Christmas nears and this year we were fortunate to be able take the kids to the Grand Canyon Railway and to ride the Polar Express to the North Pole. We all wore our pajamas, enjoyed singing waiters and waitresses, and received our very own reindeer bells during a visit from Santa.

Book summary and teaching ideas come from A Teacher's Guide to The Polar Express.
One Christmas Eve many years ago, a boy lies in bed, listening hard for the bells of Santa’s sleigh, which he has been told by a friend do not exist. Later that night he hears not bells but a very different sound. He looks out of his window and is astounded to see a steam engine parked in front of his house!

The conductor invites him to board the Polar Express, a train filled with children on their way to the North Pole. The boy and his companions journey past tiny towns and forests full of wild creatures. They travel up and around mountains and across the Great Polar Ice Cap to the magical city at the North Pole.

The train takes the children to the center of the city, where Santa and the elves have gathered for the giving of the first gift of Christmas. The boy is chosen to receive this first gift. Knowing that he can choose anything in the world, he decides on a simple gift: one silver bell from Santa’s sleigh. Santa cuts a bell from a reindeer’s harness and the delighted boy slips it into his bathrobe pocket as the clock strikes midnight and the reindeer pull the sleigh into the sky.

When the children return to the train, the boy realizes the bell has fallen through a hole in his pocket. Heartbroken, he is returned to his home. In the morning, his little sister finds one small box with the boy’s name on it among the presents below the Christmas tree. Inside is the silver bell! The boy and his sister are enchanted by its beautiful sound, but their parents cannot hear it. The boy continues to believe in the spirit of Christmas and is able to hear the sweet ringing of the bell even as an adult.

Special Features of The Polar Express
The arrival of a steam engine—the Polar Express—on the boy’s quiet street is startling and wonderful enough to make readers gasp out loud. This book in particular captures the magic of childhood with sensitivity and grace. The warm and vivid color pastels create expressive characters and scenes that are very much alive. The artwork, combined with Chris Van Allsburg’s vivid prose, creates a journey that resonates on many levels for readers of all ages.

This is a book to return to year after year. The vivid visual world of The Polar Express is evoked by the text as well as by the pictures. Van Allsburg constructs a distinct sense of place, infused with magic by his skillful use of metaphor and simile. The train is “wrapped in an apron of steam,” and the children drink hot cocoa “as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars.”The lights of the North Pole appear to the boy as “the lights of an ocean liner sailing on a frozen sea.”

Summary of Teaching Ideas

One of the most striking features of The Polar Express is its vivid sensory description. Children can be encouraged to notice the way Van Allsburg uses all of the senses when describing the boy’s journey.

For example, the reindeer “pranced and paced, ringing the silver bells that hung from their harnesses. It was a magical sound, like nothing I’d ever heard.” He describes the sensation of the train rolling up and down the mountains “like a car on a roller coaster,” and the taste of rich hot cocoa. This type of description provides a wonderful model for children who are working on writing fresh and unusual description. Van Allsburg’s writing also evokes a distinct sense of place. He writes, “the train thundered through the quiet wilderness,” describing the striking contrast of the thundering train and the quiet woods.

It can be helpful to examine his descriptions of the setting (which changes as the train makes its way to the North Pole), as it can be useful in the context of both reading and writing.When we are reading, for example, we can gather information about the story by paying close attention to the setting. It helps make the world of the story real for us. Van Allsburg’s stories do not take place in a void but instead are rooted firmly in believable settings.

Guiding Questions for a Polar Express Book
Conversation
• 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?”
• 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?
• The boy can ask Santa Claus for anything in the world. Why do you think he chooses a simple bell?
• Why can the boy still hear the bell as an adult, while his sister and friends cannot?
• What do you think Chris Van Allsburg wants the bell to represent?

I love having family traditions that involve books and reading. Hope you enjoy the book as much as my kids have through the years.

Here are some highlights of our family trip on The Polar Express:

Abundance is ...using your imagination and living the story.

Thank you Storytellin' Mama for your guest post! What a wonderful way to look at this well loved story! Avtcoach