The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg [FIRST EDITION] 1985 • Houghton Mifflin

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

FIRST EDITION [1985] HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO.

Later 34th printing. 

XL hardcover with dust jacket in Very Good condition. 

Dust jacket has mild shelf / edge wear; a small chip on lower front;  

Book itself is near mint.   Pristine red cloth boards.  Reads perfectly. *short, neatly written gift inscription on front endpaper.

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“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see.”

Late one Christmas Eve after the town has gone to sleep, the boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives, Santa offers the boy any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the harness of the reindeer. The gift is granted. On the way home the bell is lost. On Christmas morning, the boy finds the bell under the tree. The mother of the boy admires the bell, but laments that it is broken—for you see, only believers can hear the sound of the bell.

In strange and moving shades of full color art, Chris Van Allsburg creates an otherwordly classic of the Christmas season. 'The Polar Express' evokes the same sense of mystery as his previous imaginative books 'The Garden of Abdul Gasazi' (1979), 'Jumanji' (1981), and 'The Wreck of the Zephyr' (1983).

Awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1986, 'The Polar Express 'has sold more than 7 million copies, become a classic holiday movie, and been translated into stage productions that take place across the United States during the holiday season.