The Art of The Polar Express.

VAZ, Mark Cotta and Steve Starkley. [Chris Van Allsburg] [Tom Hanks] .

Item Number: 137534

San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004.

First edition of this illustrated celebration of the classic in children’s literature, the basis for the 2004 film. Oblong quarto, original boards, illustrated by Doug Chiang and Rick Carter. Signed by Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis on the half-title page. Tom Hanks was the main voice actor of the 2004 theatrical film. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Introduction by Robert Zemeckis. Jacket Design by Hae Yuon Kim.

The Polar Express "clearly established the illustrator-author as one of the premier creators of picture books in 20th-century children’s literature. The Polar Express, immediately taken to heart by children and adults alike, was a phenomenon in children’s publishing. It won the Caldecott Medal for illustration, appeared on the New York Times best seller list, sold more than a million copies in its first five years of publication and achieved the status of a contemporary classic Rich panel illustrations, in blues and purples, are accompanied by a narrative that achieves an exceptional sense of story Van Allsburg touches a universal chord— faith. The simple truth of the story is perceptively conveyed through a felicitous blend of pictures and narrative; the combination radiates with childlike wonder while reverberating with mysterious intensity" (Silvey, 660). It is the basis for the 2004 3D computer-animated film directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen, with Tom Hanks in six distinct roles.