A young boy is awakened on Christmas Eve night by the sound of a train. To his astonishment, he finds the train is waiting for him. He sees a conductor who then proceeds to look up at his window. He runs downstairs and goes outside. The conductor explains the train is called the Polar Express, and is journeying to the North Pole. The boy then boards the train, which is filled with many other children in their pyjamas.
The Polar Express races north over mountains and through boreal forests inhabited by wolves as well as rabbits, but the train never slowed down. When it arrives at the North Pole, the conductor explains that Santa will select one of them to receive the first gift of Christmas.
The boy and the other children see thousands of Christmas elves gathered at the center of town waiting to send Santa Claus on his way. The boy is handpicked by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas. Realizing that he could choose anything in the world, the boy asks for one bell from one of the reindeer's harnesses. The boy places the bell in the pocket of his robe and all the children watch as Santa takes off into the night for his annual deliveries.
Later, on the train ride home, the boy discovers that the bell has fallen through a hole in his pocket. The boy arrives home and goes to his bedroom as the train pulls away. On Christmas morning, his sister finds a small package for the boy under the tree, behind all of the other gifts. The boy opens the box and discovers that in it was the bell, delivered by Santa who found it on the seat of his sleigh. When the boy rings the bell, both he and his sister marvel at the beautiful sound. His parents, however, are unable to hear the bell and remark that it must be broken. The book ends with the following line:
At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.

LDF Notes: This collection is well suited for beginning readers (short paragraphs, nice illustrations).

Boréal-Express.

Il y a longtemps, une nuit, la nuit de Noël, un train s'arrête dans la rue devant la fenêtre d'un petit garçon. Invité à y monter, celui-ci y retrouve quantité d'autres enfants vêtus de pyjamas ou de chemise de nuit. Commence alors un voyage fantastique à travers bois, sur des montagnes enneigées, jusqu'au Pôle Nord, le pays du... Père Noël ! Rêve ou réalité ?

Notes LDF Collection particulièrement adaptée pour les lecteurs débutants. Paragraphs courts, belles illustrations.

Fantastic things are happening at Grandma's house on the hill. At night, in Nora's room, the toy trunk opens up and all the toys come out to play with Nora. The toys have also brought all the stars in the sky to come and play...
Nora looks outside and finds the sky so dark, it looks like the sky is so sad. When a rain drop falls, Nora thinks the sky is crying and decides to put everything back in its right place.

LDF Notes: This collection is well suited for young readers (short paragraphs, nice illustrations).

La vraie place des étoiles.

Il s'en passe de drôles de choses, la nuit, dans la belle maison de Grand-maman sur la colline, au milieu des palmiers et des cyprès. Dans la chambre de Nora, la malle aux jouets s'anime et commence une formidable fête à laquelle participent poupées et pantins, sans oublier Maggie, Pouh, Kiki et... toutes les étoiles de ce beau ciel d'été !
Mais bientôt le ciel est tout noir et une goutte d'eau tombe. Le ciel serait-il si triste d'avoir perdu ses étoiles qu'il pleure. Nora décide de tout remettre en ordre.

Notes LDF: Collection particulièrement adaptée pour les jeunes lecteurs. Paragraphes courts, belles illustrations.

When he was born, Okilele wasn't cute. His parents, brothers and sister said, "Oh, he's ugly!" Okilele thought that was his name, so he didn't understand why it was bothersome. He left in search of someone who would need him, and set off on a very nice voyage ...

LDF Notes: This collection is well suited for beginning readers (short paragraphs, nice illustrations).

Okilélé

Quand il est né, Okilélé n'était pas beau. Ses parents, ses frères, sa soeur dirent "Oh, qu'il est laid!" Okilélé pensa que c'était son prénom et ne comprenait pas pourquoi il gênait partout où il se trouvait. Croyez-vous qu'il se laissa faire ? Non, et c'est le début d'une très longue histoire, d'un très beau voyage ...

Notes LDF Collection particulièrement adaptée pour les jeunes lecteurs. Paragraphes courts, belles illustrations.

Oregon and I met at the Star Circus. He used to get on stage right before me and every night I took him back to his cage. One night, he started talking and this is what he said....

Themes explored in this book: USA, friendship, circus, travel.

LDF Notes: This collection of short stories has nice illustrations to entice young readers. The themes explored are more serious making this collection suitable for more mature readers.

Le voyage d'Oregon.

Nous nous sommes connus au Star Circus, Oregon et moi. Il passait juste avant mon numéro et je le raccompagnais tous les soirs jusqu'à sa cage. Un jour, il m'a parlé, et voici ce qu'il m'a dit...

Thèmes explorés dans ce livre: Amérique du nord, Amitié, Cirque, Voyage.

Notes LDF: Cette collection d'histoires courtes est illustrée de belles images pour retenir l'attention du lecteur. Les thèmes abordés sont sérieux et rendent cette collection plus adaptée aux enfants plus âgés

Akli wants to pick up a sword in a town faraway. In order to do that, Akli will have to cross the desert. Akli asks Azumar, the camel, to join him. To entice the camel, Akli promises him a silver saddle..

Themes explored in this book: Camel, tales, challenges, Sahara, Touareg, travels.

LDF Notes: This collection of short stories has nice illustrations to entice young readers. The themes explored are more serious making this collection suitable for more mature readers.

Akli, prince du désert.

Akli veut aller chercher son épée chez son oncle qui habite la ville. Mais, pour cela, il doit traverser le désert et affronter des génies méchants et grands comme des monstres. Akli demande à Azumar le chameau de l'accompagner et, pour le convaincre, il lui promet une selle d'argent...

Thèmes explorès dans ce livre: Chameau, Conte, épreuve, Sahara, Touareg, Voyage.

Notes LDF: Cette collection d'histoires courtes est illustrée de belles images pour retenir l'attention du lecteur. Les thèmes abordés sont sérieux et rendent cette collection plus adaptée aux enfants plus agés

In the middle of his backyard, there is a huge tree where thousand of birds rest and sing. When the tree dies, the instrument maker decides to use its wood to carve the most magnificent cello. Will anyone be able to make the cello sing?...

Themes explored in this book: Trees, Carnival, music, Venice.

LDF Notes: This collection of short stories has nice illustrations to entice young readers. The themes explored are more serious, making this collection suitable for more mature readers.

Le luthier de Venise.

Au milieu de son jardin, le luthier avait un arbre sur les branches duquel venaient se poser des kyrielles d'oiseaux. Un hiver, l'arbre mourut... Du bois de cet arbre, le luthier fabriqua le plus parfait des violoncelles. Y aura-t-il un musicien capable de le faire chanter?

Thèmes explorés dans ce livre: Arbres, Carnaval, Musique, Venise.

Notes LDF: Cette collection d'histoires courtes est illustrée de belles images pour retenir l'attention du lecteur. Les thèmes abordés sont sérieux et rendent cette collection plus adaptée aux enfants plus âgés.

The autobiography of a stuffed bear, Otto. Given to his friend before being sent to a concentration camp, Otto the stuffed bear will witness World War II and its aftermath. Fate will allow Otto to reunite both friends many, many years later.

Themes explored in this book: War, autobiography, friendship

LDF Notes: This collection of short stories has nice illustrations to entice young readers. The themes explored are more serious making this collection suitable for more mature readers.

Otto.

Autobiographie d'un ours en peluche. Avant d'être envoyé dans un camp de concentration, David donne son ours en peluche, Otto à un ami. Otto sera témoin de la deuxième guerre mondiale et de toutes ses conséquences. Le hasard fera que bien des années plus tard, Otto permettra aux deux amis de se retrouver

Thèmes explorés dans ce livre: Guerre, autobiographie, amitié.

Notes LDF: Cette collection d'histoires courtes est illustrée de belles images pour retenir l'attention du lecteur. Les thèmes abordés sont sérieux et rendent cette collection plus adaptée aux enfants plus âgés

Blue Dog is Charlotte's best friend. He is also mysterious, powerful and blue. Charlotte's Mom is afraid of Blue Dog and does not want her to play with it. Will Blue Dog find a way to show Mom that it only wants to protect Charlotte and keep her safe?

LDF Notes: This collection is well suited for young readers (short paragraphs, nice illustrations).

Chien bleu.

La maman de Charlotte lui défend de jouer avec le grand chien bleu qui la visite. En pique-nique dans les bois, la fillette s'égare. Son ami chien la retrouve, la protège et la ramène chez elle.

Notes LDF Collection particulièrement adaptée pour les jeunes lecteurs. Paragraphes courts, belles illustrations.