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Overview
On the last page of the Caldecott-winning book Jumanji, young Danny Budwing is seen running after his brother, Walter, with a game tucked under his arm. Now after twenty years, Chris Van Allsburg is ready to reveal what happens when Danny and Walter roll the dice. This time the name of the game is Zathura and the battling Budwing boys are in for the ride of their lives.
Zathura unleashes intergalactic challenges that require even the quarreling Budwing brothers to work as a team.
Zathura hit bestseller lists when it was first published in 2002 and it's sure to visit them again this fall, along with an exciting selection of six movie tie-in editions when Zathura blasts into movie theatres nationwide!
Left on their own for an evening, two boisterous brothers find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical space adventure board game.
Synopsis
On the last page of the Caldecott-winning book Jumanji, young Danny Budwing is seen running after his brother, Walter, with a game tucked under his arm. Now after twenty years, Chris Van Allsburg is ready to reveal what happens when Danny and Walter roll the dice. This time the name of the game is Zathura and the battling Budwing boys are in for the ride of their lives.
Zathura unleashes intergalactic challenges that require even the quarreling Budwing brothers to work as a team.
Zathura hit bestseller lists when it was first published in 2002 and it's sure to visit them again this fall, along with an exciting selection of six movie tie-in editions when Zathura blasts into movie theatres nationwide!
Publishers Weekly
Twenty years after Jumanji (1981), Van Allsburg picks up where he left off, with Danny and Walter Budwing discovering an oblong box in the park. Walter dismisses the box as "just some dumb old game," but his curious younger brother takes it home anyway. While Walter watches TV, Danny glances at the game's "jungle adventure" board, then turns his attention to a second board with an outer-space theme and "a path of colored squares leading... to a purple planet called Zathura." Just then, "with a click, a small green card popped out of the edge.... He picked it up and read, `Meteor showers, take evasive action.' " The boys don't act too surprised when a giant meteor falls into their tastefully appointed living room, but they do get excited when they see only stars and dark sky outside their windows. Several dice-rolls later, they're scrambling to evade a homicidal robot and a scaly "Zyborg pirate" climbing backward through the meteor-hole in the ceiling (its face goes unseen). As the boys play, their sibling rivalry gives way to cooperation, and grouchy Walter comes to appreciate his little brother. Van Allsburg illustrates the surreal events in a grainy charcoal-black that seems to shimmer on a rough, cream-colored ground. His deathly quiet images double spreads this time have a frozen stillness that leaves all color and activity to the imagination; with each new threat, the book seems to hold its breath. Van Allsburg reuses some devices, and Zathura, like Jumanji, is a satisfying enigma. The puzzling conclusion, involving a black hole and time travel to an earlier illustration, will have devotees scouring the first book and its sequel for clues. All ages. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewAfter 20 years, acclaimed author Chris Van Allsburg follows up his Caldecott Medal winner Jumanji, conjuring up out-of-this-world playtime for two adventure-prone Bundwing boys.
A new universe opens up when Danny discovers a second, hidden board tucked snugly at the bottom of the Jumanji game box. The new game is covered in curious decorations: various space objects and a "path of colored squares leading from Earth to a purple planet called Zathura and back to Earth." Of course, Danny can't resist throwing the dice, which results in a pop-up card that warns of a meteor shower. Not long after, a giant space rock lands in the middle of the boys' living room. Each new roll of the dice brings more surprises: the house is suddenly transported to outer space; a lack of gravity forces Danny to tie his brother to the couch; a murderous robot tries to destroy the boys and scares away Zyborg space pirates; and Walter gets swallowed by a black hole. Fortunately, though, Walter's trip brings him and us strangely back to an early scene in the book, with Jumanji getting purposely dumped in the trash.
With his trademark grainy black-and-white illustrations tickling our imagination (strangely placed objects and perplexing perspectives abound) and the mysterious energy that runs through all his books, Van Allsburg again delivers a winner that will send fans into orbit. The action-packed plot of Zathura fits with its predecessor like the missing piece of a puzzle, leaving readers with the fantastic feeling that Van Allsburg is the ruler of a marvelously crafted world in which these boys -- and every reader -- can find adventure. Truly far out. Matt Warner
From the Publisher
On the twentieth anniversary of Jumanji, Van Allsburg picks up right where his Caldecott Medal book left off, with similarly terrifying adventure set this time in outer space.Booklist, ALA, Starred Review
"Van Allsburg illustrates the surreal events in a grainy charcoal-black that seems to shimmer on a rough, cream-colored ground...Zathura, like Jumanji, is a satisfying enigma." Publishers Weekly
“Van Allsburg is a terrific illustrator, and his images here, including one where the boys open their front door and are greeted with a breathtaking views of the cosmos, are memorable.” The New York Times Book Review
“The angles of view, are, as always, wonderfully dramatic…” Kirkus Reviews
“The shadowy black-and-white tones of Van Allsburg’s illustration recall 1950’s science-fiction films…” The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“One can’t help but anticipating the encore.” School Library Journal