Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg.
Title: Jumanji.
Author: Chris Van Allsburg.
Artist: Chris Van Allsburg.
Genre: Fiction, YA, children's lit, picture books, fantasy.
Country: U.S.
Language: English.
Publication Date: 1981.
Summary: Bored and restless, siblings Peter and Judy find a strange game in the park, with the instructions that it must be finished or go on forever. Never in their wildest dreams can they imagine such an unassuming board game could come to life and take them on the most extraordinary and bizarre jungle adventure of their lives!
My rating: 7.5/10
My review:
♥
♥ It was cold for November. The children could see their breath like steam. They rolled in the leaves and when Judy tried to stuff some leaves down Peter's sweater he jumped up and ran behind a tree. When his sister caught up with him, he was kneeling at the foot of the tree, looking at a long thin box.
"What's that?" Judy asked.
"It's a game," said Peter, handing her the box.
"'JUMANJI,'" Judy read from the box, "'A JUNGLE ADVENTURE GAME.'"
"Look," said Peter, pointing to a note taped to the bottom of the box. In a childlike handwriting were the words "Free game, fun for some but not for all. P.S. Read instructions carefully."
♥
"I'm going to read the instructions: 'Jumanji, a young people's jungle adventure especially designed for the bored and restless.
"'A. Player selects piece ad places it in the deepest jungle. B. Player rolls dice and moves piece along path through the dangers of the jungle. C. First player to reach Jumanji and yell the city's name aloud is the winner.'"
"Is that all?" asked Peter, sounding disappointing.
"No," said Judy, "there's one more thing, and this is in capital letters: 'D. VERY IMPORTANT: ONCE A GAME OF JUMANJI IS STARTED IT WILL NOT BE OVER UNTIL ONE PLAYER REACHES THE GOLDEN CITY.'"
♥
♥
♥ "I don't think," said Peter in between gasps of air, "that I want... to play... this game... anymore."
"But we have to," said Judy as she helped Peter back downstairs. "I'm sure that's what the instructions mean. That lion won't go away until one of us wins the game."
Peter stood next to the card table. "Can't we just call the zoo and have him taken away?" From upstairs came the sounds of growling and clawing at the bedroom door. "Or maybe we could wait till Father comes home."
"No one would come from the zoo because they wouldn't believe us," said Judy. "And you know how upset Mother would be if there was a lion in the bedroom. We started this game, and now we have to finish it."
♥
♥
Peter took his turn. Thank heavens, he landed on a blank space. He rolled again. "'Monsoon season begins, lose one turn.'" Little raindrops began to fall in the living room. Then a roll of thunder shook the walls and scared the monkeys out of the kitchen. The rain began to fall in buckets as Judy took the dice.
♥
"'Guide gets lost, lose one turn.'" The rain suddenly stopped. The children turned to see a man hunched over a map.
"Oh dear, I say, spot of bad luck now," he mumbled. "Perhaps a left turn here then... No, no... a right turn here... Yes, absolutely, I think, a right turn... or maybe..."
"Excuse me," said Judy, but the guide just ignored her.
"...around here, then over... No, no... over here and around this... Yes, good... but then... Hm..."
Judy shrugged her shoulders and handed the dice to Peter.
♥
"'Rhinoceros stampede, go back two spaces.'"
As fast as he had fallen asleep, Peter awoke. Together they listened to a rumble in the hallway. It grew louder and louder. Suddenly a herd of rhinos charged through the living room and into the dining room, crushing all the furniture in the path. Peter and Judy covered their ears as sounds of splintering wood and breaking china filled the house.
♥
"Oh, no," he moaned. "'Volcano erupts, go back three spaces.'" The room became warm and started to shake a little. Molten lava poured from the fireplace opening. It hit the water on the floor and the room filled with steam. Judy rolled the dice and moved ahead.
♥
The steam in the room became thicker and thicker. Judy cold not even see Peter across the table. Then, as if all the doors and windows had been opened, a cool breeze cleared the steam from the room. Everything was just as it had been before the game. No monkeys, no guide, no water, no broken furniture, no snake, no lion roaring upstairs, no rhinos. Without saying a word to each other, Peter and Judy threw the game into its box. They bolted out the door, ran across the street to the park, and dropped the game under a tree. Back home, they quickly put all their toys away. But both children were too excited to sit quietly, so Peter took out a picture puzzle. As they fit the pieces together, their excitement slowly turned to relief, and then exhaustion. With the puzzle half done Peter and Judy fell sound asleep on the sofa.
♥
♥ "Such a hard puzzle," she said to the children. "Daniel and Walter are always starting puzzles and never finishing them." Daniel and Walter were Mrs. Budwing's sons. "They never read instructions either. Oh well," said Mrs. Budwing, turning to rejoin the guests, "I guess they'll learn."
Both children answered, "I hope so," but they weren't looking at Mrs. Budwing. They were looking out the window. Two boys were running through the park. They were Danny and Walter Budwing, and Danny had a long, thin box under his arm.