Booksellers Ride Polar Express for Worthy Causes

Booksellers are saluting The Polar Express, which chugged into movie theaters on November 10. The eagerly anticipated release of Warner Brothers' animated adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express (Houghton Mifflin) has generated many promotional activities, as well as altruistic possibilities for booksellers around the country. Many are participating in The Polar Express Ride for Reading marketing campaign developed by Houghton Mifflin and Book Sense, which includes a component to raise funds for the children's literacy organization First Book or another organization of the store's choosing.

At The BookMark Shoppe in Brooklyn, New York, co-owner Bina Valenzano has used "everything Book Sense sent us" to decorate the store and prepare for its Polar Express Pajama Party, to be held on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. "We have been collecting donations for First Book, using the trains. For the party, we'll have games, do a craft, and someone will read the story. We want everyone to come in pajamas," Valenzano told BTW. "With the buzz from the movie opening on November 10, we think the kids will be really up for the party by Friday night."

The Polar Express pajama party at Viewpoint Books in Columbus, Indiana, started at the depot (above), complete with timetable and conductor, and moved to a reading of the book (below).

At Octavia Books in New Orleans, bookseller John Bayles told BTW that The Polar Express Ride for Reading materials were being used quite effectively by the store. "We have an easel on a table right in front of the checkout counter," he said. "This Saturday, for our children's program, we'll be reading the book and the kids are encouraged to write reviews."

A family-friendly shopping mall in Columbus, Indiana, home of Viewpoint Books, was the perfect location for a three-station trip on the Polar Express. Co-owner Susan Whittaker described the program to BTW: "We had a Polar Express pajama party, and everyone came in their 'jammies, including us. We partnered with the KidsCommons Children's Museum and a paint-your-own studio called Color Me Mine. Both are our neighbors in The Commons Centre. The event started at our store, the depot, where we read the book; the second stop was the museum, and the children wrote letters to Santa. At Color Me Mine, the kids painted a ceramic ornament. Then they returned to the store for cocoa and treats." The event proved to be very popular, Whittaker said. "We ran two sessions of 30 kids each, and had waiting lists."

A large-scale event connected to the release of The Polar Express took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently. The Big Picture Project, in conjunction with many organizations, including Schuler Books & Music, organized a major fundraiser to benefit Hospice of Michigan's Pediatric Program. The city was the site of one of the four national sneak previews of the film, which also featured an appearance by the author. Van Allsburg, a Grand Rapids native, recommended the city for the Midwest premiere, and spent several days there participating in promotional and goodwill events. According to store owner Cecile Fehsenfeld, over 1,000 people came to Van Allsburg's book signing at the store on November 4.

On November 5, 1,400 donors, who had contributed $250 to support the hospice, were picked up from and returned to the new downtown convention center in decorated buses with genuine train conductors aboard. The buses dropped them off at the Celebration Cinema, where they were greeted by paparazzi as they crossed a red carpet. Fehsenfeld told BTW that The Polar Express was then shown on four screens, at 15-minute intervals to accommodate the large crowd exiting the theater and reboarding the buses. They returned to the convention center for the "Winter Ball," which featured appearances by Van Allsburg, actor Peter Scolari, and a local gymnastics troupe demonstrating their skill at tumbling with trays of hot chocolate.

According to Neil Rajala of Schuler's promotions department, related activities have been held in the store since October 1, where bookmark designing and a "wish tree" from the Hospice nurses have connected the book's inspirational story to the seriously ill children in need of hospice care.

Photographs of some of the pediatric patients have been on exhibit in the store. The store has bought out the entire theater for a single showing of The Polar Express on November 28. Tickets for the show will be used for giveaways and prizes throughout the month.

(For more information about The Polar Express Ride for Reading, click here.)
--Nomi Schwartz