The Polar Express is a children's book written by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. The book is set partially in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the author's hometown, and was inspired in part by Van Allsburg's memories of visiting the Herpolsheimer's and Wurzburg's department stores as a child. It was adapted as an Oscar-nominated motion-capture film in 2004 starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Van Allsburg served as an executive producer on the film. Van Allsburg won the annual Caldecott Medal for illustration of an American children's picture book in 1986, his second after Jumanji.