Jumanji (short story)
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| Author | Chris Van Allsburg |
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| Illustrator | Chris Van Allsburg |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's, fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
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Publication date
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1981 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 32 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 7196761 |
| [Fic] 19 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.V266 Ju |
| Preceded by | The Garden of Abdul Gasazi |
| Followed by | Ben's Dream |
Jumanji is a 1981 fantasy children's picture book, written and illustrated by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. It was made into a 1995 film of the same name. Both the book and the film are about a magical board game that implements real animals and other jungle elements as the game is played; thus the dangers which the players have to overcome in the game also appear in real life. Jumanji star Robin Williams claimed "jumanji" is a Zulu word meaning "many effects," and Van Allsburg does as well.
Fritz, a bull terrier in all of Chris Van Allsburg's books, appears as a toy dog on wheels in the third illustration.
While their parents are out for the evening, Judy and Peter Shepherd, after playing with some toys, become bored and don't know what to do so they go to the park. There they find a jungle adventure game called Jumanji, which seems to have been abandoned. They take Jumanji home and find a warning message: "Do not begin unless you intend to finish." They start playing, only to discover that the game is real: any dangers encountered in the game spring to life somewhere in the house. When Peter rolls on a lion, a real lion appears, which Judy and Peter trap in their mother's bedroom. Judy rolls on a stampede, Peter rolls on a monsoon, and Judy rolls on an explorer—each appears in real life to wreak havoc in the house. Still they continue to play, hoping that by finishing the game everything will go back to normal. The game finally ends when Judy rolls a volcano and yells "JUMANJI!" In an instant everything is back to normal, and the siblings quickly return the game to the park before their parents finally return. The story ends when Judy and Peter look outside and see their neighbors, Danny and Walter, excitedly returning from the park with Jumanji in their hands and their mother claims they never bother to finish the games they play, nor read the instructions.
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