Jumanji (Hardcover)

by Chris Van Allsburg (Author) "Now remember," Mother said, "your father and I are bringing some guests by after the opera, so please keep the house neat?..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
When Judy and Peter find a board game in the park, they take it home, hoping to alleviate their boredom. One live lion, an erupting volcano, and a dozen destructive monkeys later, the children are no longer bored. Their jungle adventure game has come to life! Chris Van Allsburg is a master at walking the line between fantasy and reality. His unusually sculptured drawings (familiar to the many devoted fans of the Caldecott-winning The Polar Express and The Garden of Abdul Gasazi) convey the magical transition of a normal house to an exotic jungle. Readers will tremble along with Judy and Peter, urging them to roll the dice that will plunge them from one perilous predicament into another. Jumanji, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and winner of the 1982 Caldecott Medal, is sure to amaze and thrill even the most jaded young reader. (Ages 9 to 12)

Review
"Mr. Van Allsburg's illustrations have a beautiful simplicity of design, balance, texture, and a subtle intelligence beyond the call of illustration." -- Review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; Early Printing edition (April 27, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395304482
• ISBN-13: 978-0395304488
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jungle fever, July 9, 2004

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Chris Van Allsburg used to be my favorite picture book artist, and in many ways he remains so to this day. And it's books like, "Jumanji" that remind me why I love his work as strongly as I do. For some reason, Van Allsburg's picture books are so popular and so evocative that they are continually adapted into full screen motion pictures. "Polar Express" has just been turned into a computer animated extravaganza, and "Jumanji" was a Robin Williams vehicle once. Just the same, nothing compares to the original tale. Using his uber-realistic illustrations to highlight how incredibly bizarre the storyline is, this book is fully worthy of the 1982 Caldecott Medal it was awarded.

Peter and Judy have been left home alone by their opera going parents and boy are they boredy bored bored. After playing with their toys and making a mess they decide to take a run to the park. Once there, they discover an abandoned board game called Jumanji sitting beneath a tree. On a note taped to the bottom of the box read the words, "Free game, fun for some but not for all. P.S. Read instructions carefully". The kids don't know what to expect but they take the game with them anyway. After reading the instructions they find that once a person begins Jumanji they cannot stop until someone has won the game. The first roll of the die leads to a space that reads, "Lion attacks, move back two spaces". Suddenly there's a real live lion in the room, and it's regarding Peter hungrily. The kids realize, to their horror, that whatever happens on the board happens in real life. If they want to finish the game (and remain alive) they're going to have to continue.

The book really plays on the old idea of "when the parents are out the kids will get up to all kinds of unwitting mischief". There's a lot in this story that's similar to "The Cat in the Hat". Two bored kids. The magical entity that destroys their home but (undeniably) occupies their time. Getting everything cleaned up before mom and dad walk in the door. You get the idea. The story is surreal and skirts the edges of the disturbing. With illustrations created with Conte dust and Conte pencils, Van Allsburg makes the pictures especially realistic. You can make out every strand on Peter's head or observe delicate details on the rubber bands holding together Judy's braids. As a child, I was always fascinated with realistic images of fantastical situations. Van Allsburg fits this bill perfectly.

"Jumanji" was later given a sequel of sorts entitled, "Zathura". I haven't read it myself, but I think my loyalties will always lie with the original. There's something about Van Allsburg's clean lines and startled expressions that really chill the reader to the bone. If you have a child that likes to be ever so slightly freaked out from time to time, I can't think of any picture book artist that does a better job of this than the master of the pencil drawing: Chris Van Allsburg. And "Jumanji" is his masterpiece.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jumanji, March 31, 2001

By	Lisa Podowski (Frankfort, IL) - See all my reviews

When two children are left home alone for the afternoon, they find a mysterious board game named "Jumanji: A Jungle Adventure" in the forest. As they begin to play, Peter lands on a spot marked "Lion attacks, move back two spaces." Judy has a look of horror on her face, when a real lion appears in the living room! Peter quickly manages to get the lion locked up in the bedroom. Judy then lands on "monkeys steal food" and finds live monkeys tearing apart the family's kitchen. The children go on to face other dangerous obstacles, including a rhinoceros stampede, during the course of the game. Read to find out if their adventure ever ends before the children's parents arrive home to a disaster!

Van Allsburg won a Caldecott Medal for this wonderful story. The illustrations are done in grays with shading. The pictures of people, animals, and the setting are very realistic. Most of the pictures are at eye level, so the reader feels like he or she is in the house along with the characters. The story itself is so colorful and adventurous that the black and white pictures complement the mystical aspects of this fantastic story!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jumanji, May 20, 2004

A Kid's Review

Have there ever been monkeys jumping around in your kitchen, or a lion destroying your bedroom, with a huge volcano irrupting in your house? Was there ever a large stampede of rhinos running crazy in your living room? Well that is what happens to Judy and Peter in the sensational book, Jamanji. When they were both left home alone, Judy and Peter got really bored. They decide to take a stroll in the park. On their way to the park, they discover a game named "Jamanji" sitting under a tree. They take it home and immediately start to play. All of the sudden, the creatures from the game came to life, in their very own house! How will Peter and Judy get this jungle cleaned up before their parents come home? Will they clean up in time? This book is a great mystery for kids' ages 4 to12. It has a great plot and brings wonderful excitement to the reader. Each topic makes you eager to read more and find out the result of the mystery.