#15 in Picture books
The Polar Express
- 32
- Pages
- Caldecott Medal
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Our view
“The Polar Express” carries a boy by train to the North Pole in a quiet Christmas picture book of atmospheric illustrations. Van Allsburg wrote and drew it himself, and the calm story dwells on the wonder of the journey and on having faith, with a small bell as its sign. The pictures won the Caldecott Medal. Its thirty-two pages are made for a winter evening before Christmas.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Polar Express is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. Critics and various educators have described the book as a landmark in children's Christmas literature, and it is widely praised for its atmospheric illustrations by Van Allsburg himself and how it is a book about having faith. It was praised for its detailed illustrations and calm, relaxing storyline. For the work, Van Allsburg won the annual Caldecott Medal for illustration of an American children's picture book in 1986, his second after Jumanji.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 171 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 54% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Picture books average of 8.3. That is how 8.2 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.1 | 22 | 13% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 149 | 87% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Polar Express for?
The Polar Express sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 32 pages — shorter than 99% of the ranked books in Picture books.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Picture books — with scores between 8.1 and 8.3, closest to this book.
