"Jumanji" -Chris Van Allsburg

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Book Title:
Jumanji
Author/Illustrator:
Chris Van Allsburg
Type of Book:
Picture Book
Age Level:
4-8
My Star Rating:
*****



Summary

• Two bored children are left home alone as their parents go out, they are told to keep the house clean, so they decide to go outside to play, when they find a wooden board game against a tree. The children take the game back home to play, and discover a whole world of adventure, and the importance of reading the instructions carefully.

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My Thoughts

• This book is just outstanding. The adventure of the text paired with the illustrations is just phenomenal. This Caldecott winner, is rewarded for the incredible artistic ability of Author/Illustrator, Chris Van Allsburg. The illustrations seem to be made of grayscale pastel drawings, which capture the life of the board game “Jumanji”. The shading and lighting of each piece, works in unison to help the illustrations delight the readers with further understanding of the plot and danger involved with this new bizarre game. One of my favorite illustrations is when the volcano erupts and the molten lava is mixing with the water to create a room filled with steam. This picture is so mysterious and eye-catching. I also love his depiction of childhood attitudes. I feel as if this book could have been a real-life interaction of children. I remember being bored with my siblings and needing to find something to do. We argued with, and underestimated each other, but in the end we united in the face of fun. This book is simply fantastic.

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How to use in a Classroom?

• What to say, oh, what to say. This book has so many possibilities for the classroom. We could incorporate art, by having each of the students try to draw out a wild adventure of their own. We could make a class board game that we play in our free time. We could even stress the importance of reading the directions by giving a pop quiz, where the instructions say “Write your name, put down your pencil and leave all answer fields blank”, to test their instruction reading. More then that, we could talk about the fun of writing, and try to write our own adventure stories, or we could even watch the movie afterwards and discuss the similarities and differences between the two. Finally, craziest of all, if allowed, we could bring in our own objects to help the story come alive while reading it aloud. For instance, we could have already made a board game, and recorded the reading, so that as the text was read, we could actively participate in the game. With the recording, we could have audio tracks that accompany the text, such as, roaring lions, screeching monkeys, raindrops, a stampede, a snake, the hiss of steam, and the sudden quiet of the game is ended. Perhaps even a fog machine would be cool if it was approved. These added effects could really bring the story to life, and I predict that the experience would fall into the “unforgettable” category; an experience that is always remembered and cherished by children as they age.

More Resources

1. For more information about the book Click Here.
2. For more classroom ideas Click Here.
3. For more information about the movie Click Here.
4. For more information about the Author/Illustrator Click Here.