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This
is a recurring column written by a Literature Enthusiast!!
 I
LOVE BOOKS!!
By Miss
B
Jumanji
Author: ChrisVan Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright
Date: 1981
Genre: Picture Book
Jumanji is a story that revolves around
two children, Peter and Judy. When their parents leave them home alone and warn
them to keep everything tidy, there's no question that things are going to become
crazy. When Peter and Judy become bored with their toys, they take a walk and
find a game with a note on it. The note explains that the game of Jumanji is for
the bored and restless, but it's not for everyone.
When they returned home
to play, they realize what the note means. As they take steps through the forest
on the path of the game board, lions, snakes, monkeys, and rhino's appear, a volcano
erupts, and Peter is even given sleeping sickness. The game finally ends when
Judy moves out of the forest and reaches the end of the path, yelling "Jumanji!"
The wrecked house returns to normal, Peter and Judy return the game to where they
found it, and the children's parents come home. In the end, Peter and
Judy
see two mischievous boys running through the park with Jumanji in their hands.I
wonder what lies in store for them. Jumanji is a light-hearted, fun adventure
of two kids who are bored. Being that this happens to children
often, it is a great story to share with students.
As a teacher, Jumanji can
be used to stir student imaginations, to encourage ideas for writing, and even
to discuss the use of illustrations within stories. It might also be fun for students
to construct a game board of their own, using an alternative method by which to
engage in writing. Surprisingly, this is my first reading of Jumanji. I found
it fun and interesting. And as I would guess by the Caldecott Medal it received,
I enjoyed the illustrations immensely. I liked the way that Van Allsburg presented
Judy and Peter's family. He used images of the parents going to the opera, and
titles such
as "mother" and "father" instead of mom and dad to reveal what
type of household in which the children lived. The author's use of these types
of detail (those which present a well-established family that lives in a tidy
home) make the mayhem caused by Jumanji all the more alluring. And the choice
of ending, two boys with the game who do not pay attention to specific directions
like Judy and Peter, brings all the more excitement. Will Jumanji live forever?
The
Garden of Abdul Gasazi
Author: ChrisVan Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Company
Copyright Date: 1979
Genre: Picture Book
The Garden
of Abdul Gasazi is a unique picture book which explores a world that is simultaneously
real and unreal. The main characters are a young boy named Alan and Fritz, the
dog he is watching. During a walk, the mischievous dog manages to escape into
a garden which forbids dogs. In an attempt to retrieve the dog, Alan follows the
paw prints to the house of the magician, Abdul Gasazi. When Alan pleads for the
return of Fritz, the magician can only offer a duck. He explains to Alan that
he turns all trespassing dogs into ducks. Alan takes the duck he believes to be
Fritz, but the commonly mischievous dog steals Alan's cap and flies away. Alan
returns to the house of Fritz's owner, Miss Hester. After he tells her the whole
story, Fritz walks in. Miss Hester explains that Fritz was waiting for her when
she returned home and that Alan should not believe silly stories about animals
changing shapes. When Alan leaves, Miss Hester sees that Fritz has dropped something;
she scolds him for taking Alan's cap.
This story can be used in the classroom
in a variety of ways. One apparent connection would be to read this story to the
students and then have them develop fantastical stories of their own. The teacher
might discuss fantasy and ask the students to give examples of what is real and
what is not. She can then explain that in this story, things are not always real.
With this in mind, it might also be useful to have students make predictions throughout
the story during a read aloud period. Knowing what type of literature they are
reading will help students predict what occurs next. The students might also use
the story to come up with reasons why someone would not want trespassers in his/her
garden.
I enjoyed this story. I had not previously realized the wide array
of Chris Van Allsburg's work. I think that he has a particular way of making readers
connect to his stories. One of these is through his illustrations. As this story
won a Caldecott Honor, it is apparent that I am not alone in finding his illustrations
intriguing. His use of shade and attention to detail draw specific attention to
particular aspects of each picture.
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