NMLP P-004741 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-04

The Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg · Houghton Mifflin · 1985

US Houghton Mifflin is the true first. The pre-Caldecott jacket (no gold medal) plus the complete number line ending in 1 mark the true first; relaunch jackets added the medal after 1986.

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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-004741 for "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-004741, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).