"Now remember," Mother said, "your father and I are bringing some guests by after the opera, so please keep the house neat." And with that, Judy and Peter are left on their own for the night. The two of them become hopelessly bored, so they go outside to play. At the park they discover a a long, thin box. "JUMANJI," it reads. "A JUNGLE ADVENTURE GAME." Peter thinks that somebody probably left it in the park because it's so boring, but Judy convinces him to bring it home and play. Little do they know, everything that happens on the game board happens in real life, too! When Peter lands on "Lion attacks, move back two spaces," a real-life, full-grown lion appears on top of the piano. And that is just the beginning of their adventures - as it happens, the lion (and everything else that appears afterward) will not disappear until the game has ended! The duo frantically tries to finish the game, while facing monkeys, a monsoon, a rhinoceros stampede, a giant python, and more.
Luckily, Judy finishes the game. And just as if nothing had ever happened, the house magically becomes clean again. When Judy and Peter tell their parents of all their adventures, their guests laugh and all of the adults marvel at the children's vivid imaginations.
So... was the adventure true or not? I think one of the great things about this book is that it is never made clear. It just goes to show that when you truly use your imagination, the lines between fantasy and reality become sp blurred that it's impossible to tell what's real. Judy and Peter really believed that all of those amazing things happened, and that's all that matters, right?
Van Allsburg, author of Caldecott-winning Polar Express, once again succeeds in bringing children to a world that they've never imagined before. His black-and-white illustrations are so realistic that readers can actually picture themselves within the story. Additionally, this story captures a true picture of the power of imagination. The next time your children are bored out of their minds with nothing to do, maybe they can go play their own game of Jumanji.
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