The Polar Express, a magnificent engine of black and gold, shuddered to a halt right outside the bedroom window of a boy named Chris, its steam turning to icy ghosts in the bitter Christmas Eve air. Chris scrambled aboard, joining a crowd of children who were all heading for the North Pole, a journey filled with hot cocoa, dancing waiters, and songs of pure wonder. When they arrived, Santa Claus chose him to receive the very first gift of Christmas, a tiny silver bell that only true believers co