Share the work of a student or two who has made headway toward beginning a story that blends fact with fiction. Suddenly the house tilted. Everything in the room slid to one side, and Danny got buried under a mountain of furniture. What do you think this stone is? Does the description remind you of anything? Why did the men bring the stone on board? They are treated to goodies while en route to the north pole where Santa is to offer the first gift of Christmas to one of the passengers in a town-square ceremony attended by all the elves as well as the transported youngsters. Our hero is selected, and when asked what he would like, opts for a single bell from Santa's sleigh.

The Polar Express is an amazingly writtenbook. VanAllsburg's launguage is beautiful. The use of text painting and similes make the text vivid where the pictures are not. His use of language fits perfectlywith the perspective of the boy because they were descriptions of candy and things that a small child would be thinking of, the style of writing although from the boy’s viewpoint is sophisticated and uses proper grammar. The descriptions are what make the text appealing. Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938–Present". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA). Ben’s Dream provides another example of Chris Van Allsburg’s extraordinary ability to navigate between waking and sleeping worlds, between reality and fantasy. This time, the landmarks that Ben and Margaret have been studying in geography class come to life for them. As Ben drifts off to sleep in an armchair while studying for his geography test, Van Allsburg’s textured pen-and-ink drawings seamlessly integrate his sleepy small-town home into very unusual contexts. We imagine that the rain that has lulled Ben to sleep has risen so high that the house is able to float like a great ship across the world. Kaczmarczyk, Jeffrey (November 17, 2015). " 'Polar Express' author Chris Van Allsburg on how Christmas in Grand Rapids inspired beloved book". The Grand Rapids Press . Retrieved October 20, 2017.The Polar Express is written by Chris Van Allsburg and is a Caldecott Award winning book. The Polar Express falls under the fantasy genre. Based on the themes of belief and imagination though, a child could think of it as realism. It could also be considered a myth. The boy’s adventure on the train in the middle of the night is, to believers, completely believable but to those who have lost that innocence it is purely impossible and fantasized. While at the North Pole, the genre is still fantasy but moves into mythical territory. The character Santa Clause is a mythical figure and this scene that includes him would be considered mythical. Although I really do much appreciate both the story (the presented narrative) and the accompanying illustrations, Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express ultimately does indeed feel but mildly entertaining and actually also manages to leave me rather flat and strangely unsatisfied. Less experienced writers will usually have had less experience in other content areas as well, so this lesson may provide quite a challenge if you ask students to attempt it individually. The lesson could work beautifully, however, as either a group storytelling experience or a group story that you record on paper. If your class is studying seed germination, for example, you may present this situation to them: “We are going to go on a journey together to the underground world of the sprouting seed. What do you think we will see?” and then have them add to that. Yes, it has magical elements. In a way it is reminiscent of many Christmas stories, with the message that you just need to believe in Father Christmas and everything will turn out to be perfect. It had elements from stories I love, such as "The Snowman", by Raymond Briggs. In both stories a young child cannot sleep on Christmas Eve, and is magically taken to the North Pole. The difference in this case is that the journey is on a mysterious and unearthly train called the Polar Express.

As your students write, you will want to confer with as many individuals as possible. Students may have trouble integrating facts into a fictional story, so this may be the focus of many of your conferences. a b Association for Library Service to Children. "Caldecott Medal & Honor Books, 1938-Present". American Library Association . Retrieved August 24, 2012. What happens to the stone? Does anybody find it again? Imagine the continuing adventures of the stone.A) I was interested in seeing what I could do with oil pastels; I attempted to achieve the qualities of the light at night by mixing color complements (reds with greens, oranges with blues) to bring out the ambiguous hues of colors in low light. As your students go off to their tables and begin choosing and then retelling their favorite picture books, confer with them individually or in small groups. You will want to work on having them retell the story using storybook language. Many children tend simply to say out loud what they see in the book: “I see a big bear and a mama bear and a little bear. I see their house,” and so on, as opposed to “Once upon a time, three bears decided to go for a walk in the lovely woods around their home.” Modeling what you mean for children who are retelling in this way can be an extremely effective teaching strategy. The Polar Express has inspired real-life train rides across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom based on the book and film. [12] These train rides are hosted by a number of different railways, including the Grand Canyon Railway, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, the Texas State Railroad, the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, the Valley Railroad in Connecticut, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Frostburg, Maryland, and others. [13] [14] [15] [16] [6] [17] [18] Beginning in 2016, the UK's Telford Steam Railway offered the Polar Express ride on a steam engine. [19]

Chris Van Allsburg’s masterful storytelling transports readers to that magical moment on Christmas Eve when anticipation reaches its peak. Who hasn’t yearned to catch a fleeting glimpse of Santa and his reindeer? Yet, as the story aptly reminds us, Santa’s arrival is contingent upon the embrace of slumber. In this enchanting tale, a young male protagonist lies awake, straining to hear the familiar jingle of sleigh bells, only to be met with a different, equally entrancing sound—the rhythmic hiss of steam and the melodic creaking of a majestic steam train halted just beyond his doorstep.You may continue the conversation as long as your students are able to sustain it. At the end, you will want to reinforce that authors sometimes tell one story to help us understand another story or issue — just like Chris Van Allsburg did when he wrote the story of the stone.

This is an example of a realistic Illustration because you can see the details of the childrens' faces.A collection of picture books that are familiar to your students. It is helpful if some of them are wordless picture books. You may want to place a bin of these books at each of your students’ tables. The illustrations were done with oil pastels. This media allows for blending and highlighting to make the illustrations either very realistic or impressionistic. a b c Samilton, Tracy (December 16, 2013). "All Aboard! Real-Life Polar Express Chugs Through Michigan". NPR.org . Retrieved September 12, 2022. Burns, Adam (February 28, 2022). "Pere Marquette #1225: Polar Express, Top Speed, Whistle". American-Rails.com . Retrieved September 12, 2022. The book ends witha small statement about the magic of the bell. The boysays that over the years his sister and friends stopped hearing the ringing of the bell but he still hears it because he believes in its magic, the magic of Christmas. {Textual Elements}