“The Polar Express” was first introduced to children through Chris Van Allsburg’s stunningly beautiful picture book in 1985. Thirty-seven years later and it’s now widely considered to be a classic story around the holidays. Tom Hanks helped bring the story to life again in the 2004 feature film, featuring Hanks in multiple, distinct roles.
The story follows a young boy who is awakened on Christmas Eve to a train outside his home that will magically transport him to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. The story is filled with kindness, hope, friendship and a journey of belief in the seen and unseen.
Thanks to a bit of our very own library magic, the Delaware County District Library will present “All Aboard the Polar Express” on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at the Delaware Main Library. The evening gives families, adults, and children of all ages the opportunity to take a journey aboard the Polar Express without ever leaving the library!
Our very own Mr. George the Librarian will present the story with music and interactivity. He’ll dazzle with his quick changes from librarian to conductor, ghost to engineer, and back again. Families who come “aboard” will even discover a fun lesson to what’s really important this time of year (spoiler – it’s not Santa).
While you’re diving into the season of giving and kindness, you may have some loved ones who are bookworms to shop for. Try exploring the “New York Times’” list of bestsellers to see if any of these popular titles may be on their list. Here are the top sellers for this week.
1. “The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham. Two childhood friends follow in their fathers’ footsteps, which puts them on opposite sides of the law.
2. “The Lost Metal: A Mistborn Novel” by Brandon Sanderson. The seventh book in the Mistborn series. The fate of millions depends on a decision by the frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian.
3. “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King. A high school kid inherits a shed that is a portal to another world where good and evil are at war.
4. “Desert Star” by Michael Connelly. Ballard and Bosch bury old resentments as they go after two killers.
5. “Dreamland” by Nicholas Sparks. Musicians from different backgrounds are attracted to each other and a mother flees with her son from an abusive husband.
6. “Going Rogue: Rise and Shine Twenty-Nine” by Janet Evanovich. The 29th book in the Stephanie Plum series. The man who abducted the office manager at Vinnie’s Bail Bonds demands a mysterious coin in exchange for her.
7. “No Plan B: A Jack Reacher Novel” by Lee Child. The 27th book in the Jack Reacher series. Reacher goes after a killer but is unaware of the bigger implications.
8. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. A scientist and single mother living in California in the 1960s becomes a star on a TV cooking show.
9. “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. After returning to her hometown, Olivia McAfee’s son gets accused of killing his crush.
10. “Triple Cross” by James Patterson. Detective Alex Cross and the true-crime author Thomas Tull search for a serial killer known as the Family Man.
11. “Long Shadows” by David Baldacci. The seventh book in the Memory Man series. Decker works with a new partner to investigate a double homicide.
12. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver. A reimagining of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield set in the mountains of southern Appalachia.
13. “Our Missing Hearts” by Celeste Ng. Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner goes on a quest to find his mother, a Chinese American poet whose work he was taught to disavow.
14. “The Passenger” by Cormac McCarthy. The first of a two-volume story. Bobby Western discovers things have gone missing from a jet in an underwater crash site, including the 10th passenger.
15. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin. Two friends find their partnership challenged in the world of video game design.
