"The Polar Express" written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985, First Edition, 29th Printing.

Original dust jacket with un-clipped price on the front flap, hard boards, original maroon cloth with silvery decoration on the front board and silvery lettering on spine, horizontal format: 11.1/2" x 9.1/2"; chocolate-brown endpapers, unpaginated, c. 22 pages with large paintings on high quality glossy paper, very good near fine condition.

"One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion from his sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of several award winners he's produced. The Polar Express rings with vitality and wonder."

Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which he also wrote, and were later adapted as successful motion pictures. He was also a Caldecott runner-up in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, he was a 1986 U.S. nominee for the biennial International Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Michigan in April 2012.

US: Media (c.2-4 days) --------- $12.50
Canada: 1st Class (c.2-4 weeks) -- $28.50
World: 1st Class (c.2-5 weeks) --- $42.50