The Polar Express Analysis

Allsburg, Chris Van. (1985). The Polar Express. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Richly radiant oil pastels work together with intricate detail to tell the story of the magic of Christmas and the power of believing. It is easy to believe while entranced in the stunningly realistic scenes that comprise the book. Fine details found in the silky white hairs of Santa’s beard or the steam emitting from the Polar Express create visible texture. So much so that you can feel as if you were there yourself, just by looking at the illustrations. These details continue on to even the most distant background of scenes and provide the reader with the most holistic, magical experience possible. Bemelmans, Ludwig. (1953). Madeline’s Rescue. New York,

The colors, dissolved in powdered casein and ammonia, give the illustrations an abstract feel as it depicts different season and weather patterns across the islands. This type of painting is beneficial for creating oil-like pieces, without blending the colors, allowing the creative liberty of the painter to show through. The broad landscapes allow the reader to experience the entirety of a scene, which emphasizes the stories unique second-person point of view and makes the reader truly feel like they are there “falling asleep in the bright moonlight” and truly are sad to be leaving as the book suggests.

Perrault, Charles. (1954). Cinderella or The Little Glass Slipper, illustrated by Marcia Brown. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

The abstract approach to these images makes them feel fantastic in their nature, alluding to the fantasy of the traditional story of Cinderella. It stays consistent with its fairytale genre, as there are few details in the images and yet invokes a sense of magic and enchantment. The story also seems to appeal to its young readers through its pictures that appear to deny the existence of coloring inside the lines. The pen lines drawn are merely suggestions for the watercolors to stay within and provide vague outlines to give enough of a picture to excite the imagination. Selznick, Brian. (2007).

The attention to detail is evident no only in the realistic details of the characters, but also in the different styles of each tale explored by the three pigs. Whether it was cartoonish, black and white, or realistic, the panoramic view of the deconstructed stories was obtained through the use of white lanes and diagonal lines to draw the reader’s attention to specific things going on in the story. The pictures remained entertaining both in concept and execution and truly helped the readers understand the alternate universe through which the storybook characters were