Charming illustrations. “The book is set partially in Grand Rapids, Michigan,” according to Wikipedia.
It’s hard to discuss with the classic, but… “The Polar Express” is certainly a great example how secularization works. “Merry Christmas” at the end of the story sounds a little ironic. Perhaps not many people remember that actual Christmas has nothing to do with mass gifts production and gift giving. “Merry Three Kings,” rather? Or most accurately: “Merry St. Nicolas’s Day” (December 6, actually…) Oh, well…
The North Pole as a huge toy factory, with thousands of elves looking just the same, and with Santa, looking like a CEO, looks like China to me. Was it intentional irony on Allsburg’s part that on the picture in which Santa embraces the Boy they both look just like figures from the communist propaganda? Well, Christmas became shopping festivity, so this book beautifully adds to the mythology of modern consumerism. Still, I like it, my child likes it (mostly for Santa, reindeers, and the train), but it’s hard to be blinded by “stuff” for what is missing in this story, even in a dark winter solstice night.
Mom's Notebook 