Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express has been a staple of the Christmas season since it was published in 1984, perhaps challenging The Night Before Christmas as standard bedtime read-alouds on Christmas Eve.  Its themes, images, awards and historical context all signal that this is an exceptional primary source of its time period and place—the early 80s in the United States.  I was beyond elated when an art professor dropped by my set up at Loaded Question brewery in Portsmouth, NH to talk about the Caldecott Award-winning book, The Polar Express.