Zathura

Description: 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 that unleashes a new series of reckless characters. Full color.

Brief description:

Chris Van Allsburg is one of America's most innovative picture book creators. He was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Jumanji and The Polar Express and received a Caldecott Honor for his very first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. He has received the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children's literature, a National Book Award, and a Society of Illustrators Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors. He lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Visit him at chrisvanallsburg.com.

Review Quotes:

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." - 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..." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"One can't help but anticipating the encore." - School Library Journal