Do you remember reading The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg? As its 40th anniversary approaches, the book is nothing short of a Christmas classic. Before winning the Caldecott Medal in 1986, before the animated movie, and the Polar Express train rides Chris Van Allsburg had already garnered quite a reputation. He’s the author and illustrator behind The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, Jumanji, Zathura, and many others.

In this episode, Chris Van Allsburg and Leo Landry discuss the moody illustrations and profound coming-of-age story that has fascinated holiday readers year after year since 1985.

To learn more about Chris Van Allsburg’s, or Leo Landry’s books, visit

https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=chris+van+allsburg

https://www.harpercollins.com/search?q=leo+landry

Do you have a story about how a classic book changed your life? Tweet @readingpod or email us at [email protected]. Learn more at rememberreading.com. And, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

[1:59] The illustrations in The Polar Express were intentionally dark and moody to balance out the story’s Christmas cheer.

[11:48] Chris says his books are about a rite of passage as much as they are about magic.

[23:40] The Polar Express was Chris’ third book adapted into a feature film, but the first using motion-capture technology.

[30:18] Reigniting Santa Claus’s Christmas spirit is a lesser-known backstory of The Polar Express.

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Polar Express

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“There are decisions that you make as an illustrator that are stylistic considerations that have to do with what you think the emotional tone of the book is. So there was some intention in using this deeper palette.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express

“It's a coming-of-age story because there's a point in our lives where we must become rational human beings because it's very difficult to function as adults if you live in a world of make-believe.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express

“This was the first, you know, ambitious use of motion capture and to see Tom Hanks climb out of a train and to see that this was not reality, but really close to it. I said this is great.” — Chris Van Allsburg, author and illustrator of The Polar Express

“Like a lot of his [Chris Van Allburg] books, they have a little bit of tension in all of the artwork that is a little bit like you just don’t know what is going to happen when you turn the page. Even though it is seemingly like a nice Christmas story. ” — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller

“There was that annual anticipation of his [Chris Van Allburg] new book — and what would it be? His art just had a really different quality than a lot of illustration that was out there at that time. And that combined with a Christmas story, his unusual perspectives, his lighting in his artwork — the shadow and the light — every spread was just so beautifully composed.” — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller

“Sometimes I just wonder how can someone not already have this book, but then every year we sell another 25 +, 30‒40 copies. So that's really impressive to me because there are very few books where that happens, and this is definitely one of them.“ — Leo Landry, author, illustrator, and bookseller