The Polar Express

Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Publisher:
Date:
Awards: Caldecott Honor
Ages: 4-8
Topics: picture book, Christmas, train
Summary: A young boy rediscovers the joy of Christmas after riding the Polar Express.

Book Connections

• The Polar Express - Official Website
• The Polar Express from Houghton Mifflin
• The Polar Express from Google Books
  Includes samples of interior pages
• The Polar Express from Wikipedia
• The Polar Express from KidsRead
• Beyond Polar Express from National Geographic

Topic Connections

Books into Movie

• Books into Movies from KidsRead

Learning Connections

• Books into Movies. Lots of books have been made into movies. Compare the book Polar Express the to movie. Which do you like better, why? What did you think about the illustrations coming to life? What book do you think would make a good movie? Why?
• Find Fritz. The illustrator puts a picture of his Fritz his English bull terrier in all his stories. Can you find him? What secret element will you put in all your stories?
• Magic Train. Write your own story about a magic train.
• Read Online. Go to BookPals and find Polar Express. Watch it on video!
• Simile and Metaphor. Find the many simile and metaphor in the book. What do they add to a story? Write a story that includes lots of figurative language.

Teaching Connections

• The Polar Express - lessons and ideas to match this book
• The Polar Express (PDF)
• Polar Express from KidsRead
• Polar Express from Kindertheme
• The Polar Express: Story Sequencing Strips (PDF)
• Polar Expressions from Apple
• Education World ® Lesson Planning: Take the Polar Express to Learning
• Math Stories: Polar Express
• Story Map with The Polar Express
• Get the Reel Scoop: Comparing Books to Movies

Learn More

Do a Thinkfinity search for lessons related to this book.

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