You might not know Chris Van Allsburg’s name, but you know his words. You may even read them to your children or grandchildren on chilly, holiday nights. The Grand Rapids-born author’s books like Jumanji and The Polar Express have been shared around the world, and he’s won two prestigious Caldecott Medals. Van Allsburg is coming to Western Michigan University’s Little Theater on November 15th to present the 30th-anniversary edition of The Polar Express.
WMUK caught up with Van Allsburg by phone. The conversation ranged from his Michigan childhood, to the effect of The Polar Express, to how he thinks technology is changing literature.
On setting pieces of The Polar Express in West Michigan: "It's probably just a result of having grown up there, and since it's a story, in a way, about my childhood, it seemed natural that the story would be set there. It wasn't specifically Grand Rapids. But it was certainly the kind of neighborhood I remember living in as a child, so that's where I decided to set the story."
How The Polar Express came together: "...it was, in some ways, kind of instantaneous. Once I got to the point that I believed this train that I was imagining could take me anywhere, and it could take me North, it seemed to be a story that was completed. With that simple idea! And in a sense, it may sound kind of corny, but the story seemed to be waiting there for me. I didn't have to really work hard at it, wonder what happened next. It just seemed to be there. Maybe that's not hard to believe. It is such a simple story."
"But it was more like I was remembering something than I was making something up. It was always in my head. I just had to have some idea, then it's there."
On the effect of The Polar Express, 30 years later: "It has this message a little bit about faith and belief and kind of a coming-of-age. And I think there's something very poignant about that sort of transitional moment in kids' lives where they don't know if they should believe the story their parents told them."
"You certainly don't want your kid getting their drivers' license and still believing in Santa Claus, but on the other hand, as long as they still believe that, there's something sort of appealing and innocent about the ability to do that! And when your children stop doing it, you see them growing up quite quickly, right in front of your eyes."
"I've always hoped that one of the effects it might have is if it slightly advances the age at which a child stops believing. If reading this book for all their life, up to their eighth, ninth, birthday, if it bought them one more Christmas, reading this book, then I would feel really great about that."
"But it was more like I was remembering something than I was making something up. It was always in my head. I just had to have some idea, then it's there.
On how technology has changed illustrated children's books: "The result is that all books end up being pretty much alike. The variety of the experience has really flattened out by looking at it on a device. In the physical world, the world of paper and ink, books can be big, books can be small, books can be on shiny paper. So there's this whole kind of sensory experience that also gets eliminated by e-book, digital consumption of the thing. So I'm not enthusiastic about it. It's not a total opposition to technology. I just don't think it's the best way for kids to get their illustrated books."
