Five-Star Friday is a periodically regular (say what?!) feature that I’m planning on running on Fridays (but not every Friday) in which I talk about (or verbally drool over) a book that I’ve read and ADORED (sometimes they’ll be recent releases and other times they might be older…my piles are tall and the bottoms are old). Yay! I always feel so happy and light and wonderful when I am beside myself with delight over a book, and I want to share the love with you all in the hopes that we can all get together and have an embarrassing, squeal-filled love-fest full of lots of high-pitched “Ohmygod, I KNOW!s” and chest-clutching sighs of contentedness. Huzzah!*
This week, the holiday classic, Chris Van Allsburg’s THE POLAR EXPRESS *sigh*
Ok, ok. I know. THE POLAR EXPRESS is a picture book and this is a YA book blog. There’s a couple of reasons why I won’t often (or ever, even) review picture books in this space, but a couple of things about me, and why THE POLAR EXPRESS is on the blog today: One, I DO love picture books and own LOTS that I, a fully grown woman, read quite a bit. Just to relive the kiddie times, you know? I love them and their creativity and spare language. Two, I am a HUMONGOUS Christmas SAP. BIG. HUGE. I’m like Macy’s, I get on the holidays so early! I start listening to Christmas music in October. I overdecorate. I act like a 5-year-old. I still get up crazy early on Christmas morning to get to the gifts. I BELIEVE IN THE SPIRIT OF SANTA. The only thing I DON’T do is wear those crazy sweaters. Can’t help it. The Christmas magic just takes over and it feels so awesome that I don’t want it to ever go away. And every time I think of Christmas magic and the spirit of Santa and reliving the kiddie Christmas times, my mind always goes to this book. Not because I READ it when I was a kid; on the contrary. I didn’t even read THE POLAR EXPRESS until I was a teenager, when my bff at the time told me that it was her favorite Xmas book. No, I always think of this book at holiday time because it isn’t just about Santa. Not to grown-up me. It’s all about THAT BELL, Y’ALL.
Maybe this is a cliche book to say this is my favorite Christmas book, but there’s really no other choice for me. I love the story. What kid would not want to wake up in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT on Christmas Eve with a TRAIN on their street, full of kids and ALL OF THE HOT COCOA, and take a train ride to the North Pole to meet SANTA CLAUS? I would have jumped right on that. Best idea ever. I love the pictures. They’re dreamy but clear. But, you guys? I LOVE LOVE LOVE that little bell! The first gift of Christmas that, to all cynical, realistic adult-types, appears broken. But it works! It does. YOU NEED TO FEEL THE MAGIC, GROWN-UPS! The magic! *Sigh* I just love it so much.
So, Merry Happy, you guys! I hope you all are like the boy who still believes, and that you hang on to that holiday magic now and FOR ALWAYS.
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*So, I know that this feature is called “Five-Star Friday,” intimating that I have five-star ratings on this blog. Alas, I’m still figuring out whether or not to have a rating system here, BUT I do always diligently rate all the books I read on my Goodreads page. The five-star titles of which I speak here are taken from my “Favorites” shelf there.
[…] THE POLAR EXPRESS […]