ISBN: 0395389496.
The book is about a young boy who takes a magical train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. He meets Santa and receives a bell off Santa's sleigh as a gift. The boy loses his bell on the way home, only to find it waiting under the tree for him on Christmas morning. Upon ringing the bell, the boy finds that only those who believe in Santa can hear the sound.
The plot has an element of suspense that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next. The dark colors in the illustrations add to the suspense and mysterious mood. The illustrations are amazingly realistic. They look as if Van Allsburg drew them from looking at actual photographs. Van Allsburg's descriptions of the train were minimal, but this was perfect since the scene on the train was so vividly portrayed in the illustrations. Van Allsburg doesn't bother describing what the inside of the train looked like because the readers can see that for themselves just by looking at the picture.
The illustrations take up the majority of the page and the text seems to be squeezed in wherever it can fit. This is appropriate because it directs the reader's eye to the illustrations. Sometimes the text seemed unnecessary because of the beauty of the pictures. For instance, there is the scene where the conductor yells Merry Christmas and the boy can't hear him. I don't see how this bit of the plot is all that relevant.
Overall this was a beautiful story that will appeal to children and adults for many years to come.
