Sister Sarah

Sister Sarah is a character in The Polar Express book and film. She is Hero Boy's younger sister.

Christmas Eve
In the beginning of the film, Hero Boy goes downstairs to see if Santa Claus had come, but sees no presents under the tree. Suddenly, what appears to be a shadow of Santa appears, but it turns out to be his father and Sarah. Hero Boy runs back to his room and watches Sarah get tucked into bed through the key hole. While doing so, Sarah talks to her parents about what Hero Boy told her about Santa, saying he would have to travel faster than light speed in a sled larger than an ocean liner in order to deliver everyone’s presents in one night. Her parents assure her he was just joking and that Santa will come, but only if she goes to sleep.

Right before Hero Boy boards The Polar Express, the Conductor mentions how Hero Boy made Sarah put out the milk and cookies.

Christmas morning
The next morning, Sarah excitedly wakes up her brother, telling him that Santa has been to their house. When he gets up, she goes to wake up her parents. Soon, they are downstairs opening their presents when Sarah finds one small present behind the tree that is for her brother. Hero Boy opens it up to find the silver bell he received and lost last night. They each ring the bell and enjoy the beautiful sound it makes. However, their parents cannot hear it due to not believing in Santa and simply assumed it was broken.

At the end of the story, the narrator says that Sarah was able to hear the bell for years, like most of Hero Boy's friends, but they all eventually find a Christmas when they can no longer hear it.

Trivia

 * In the 1985 book, The Polar Express Sarah does not appear in the beginning of the story, only at the end.
 * Sarah is the only major child character in both the book and the film who does not ride the Polar Express.
 * Sarah and Billy are the only two characters from The Polar Express who were given names.

Quotes

 * "But he said Santa would have to fly faster than the speed of light to get to everyone's house in one night, and to hold everyone's presents, his sled would have to be bigger than an oceanliner."
 * "Wake up! Wake up! Santa's been here! Santa's been here!"