Jumanji

Title: Jumanji 

Author: Chris Van Allsburg 
Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Medium: The book does not state the medium, but according to Chris’ statement on http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/chris-van-allsburg-interview-transcript, it seems like it is charcoal pencil.
Genre: Modern Fantasy
Other Relevant Information: It won the Caldecott Medal in 1982 and was made into a major motion picture in 1995.
Summary: Two children, a boy and girl, thought they would have a boring afternoon. To their surprise, they find a magical board game that goes beyond their imagination.

Literary Elements: 

• Language: The language is clear and smooth. There is a lot of dialogue between Peter and Judy as they go through the game.
• Structure: The structure of the book is very simple. All of the text is on the left side while the illustrations are on the right. It was written in 1981, so I assume that is why it is simple. The plot is straightforward. It was wrapped up well with two new children holding the game as if they were the next children to play it.
• Theme: Teamwork, survival, determination, and imagination
• Illustrations: The illustrations are really simple and made out of charcoal. They are also very smooth and mesmerizing. They show the main point of the previous page. For example, the first animal to come out of the game was a lion. The illustration on the next page was Peter looking at the lion.

Evaluation: I love this book because it was made into one of my all-time favorite movies. Therefore, I love the story, period. The illustrations are really mesmerizing and so smooth. The text is just big enough to make it feel like you can follow the story easily. Each page is not too long either. I highly recommend this book for anyone.
 
Follow-Up Activity: The children could re-enact the story as a drama activity. They also could use these cutouts as tools for their re-enactment: http://books.google.com/books?id=bskrhIdb7lMC&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=jumanji+activity&source=bl&ots=M3GZvZisnN&sig=1MNVhXEOszT9d_rEKiPdVNJFTRo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aNhBUfjhOdGo4AO79YHoDw&ved=0CFIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=jumanji%20activity&f=false.