The Polar Express

I have always enjoyed the children's books by Chris Van Allsburg, so it is surprising that I have only discovered The Polar Express this year. Written from the perspective of a little boy who is questioning the Christmas legend, adult readers are reminded of their own experiences discovering that Santa Claus was not real. Yet, in this story, the boy is taught to believe.

The Polar Express begins with a little boy laying awake on Christmas Eve pondering what a friend told him about Santa, when a train pulls up in front of his house. He boards the train headed for the North Pole. Through cold, dark forests, over "mountains so high it seemed as if we would scrape the moon, and across the Great Polar Ice Cap", the train arrives for Santa to give out the first gift of Christmas. The little boy is chosen for this honor and

I knew that I could have any gift I could imagine. But the thing I wanted most for Christmas was not inside Santa's giant bag. What I wanted more than anything was one silver bell from Santa's sleigh.

I admire the little boy's restraint in chosing a gift. Unfortunately, he loses the bell to a hole in his robe's pocket. All is not lost though when on Christmas morning, he opens a gift from "C". It is the bell, but only those who truly believe in Christmas can hear it ring.

At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them...Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.