Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 0-618-25396-3 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: 28 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.54 (13 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Lost in Space.....
Comment: On the last page of award winning author and illustrator, Chris Van Allsburg's classic, Jumanji, Danny and Walter Budwing are seen running home from the park carrying a board game. Readers are left wondering what will happen to them. Will they play the game? Well, after twenty years Mr Van Allsburg finally answers that question with his latest picture book, Zathura. Danny opens the box and finds not just the Jumanji board, but another game board at the bottom of the box. "It showed flying saucers, rockets, and planets in outer space with a path of colored squares leading from Earth to a purple planet called Zathura and back to Earth. Danny put a token on Earth, then rolled the dice..." Sound familiar? Unfortunately, that's the problem with this book. There's nothing really new here. Mr Van Allsburg has transplanted his story from the jungle to outer space. His text is a bit flat and lacks drama and excitement. It's the intricate and marvelously detailed, black and white artwork that dazzles and makes this book worth a look, and youngsters will want to linger and explore each intriguing illustration before turning the page. Perfect for kids 4-8, Zathura works better as a stand alone for those who haven't read Jumanji, than as a sequel, and many Jumanji fans looking for a new and entertaining adventure, may be disappointed by the rehash of the original.
Rating: 5
Summary: Better Read the Directions!
Comment: At long last, 20 years after Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg's new picture book, the sequel, Zathura, picks up where we left off, with Walter and Danny Budwing opening the long thin mysterious game box containing the amazing and dangerous game called Jumanji. Much to our surprise the box contains more than just the Jumanji game. Danny and Walter are the kind of kids who don't finish their puzzles and don't read the directions before starting a new game. Just like its predecessor, Zathura takes us on a wild ride at break-neck speed and the boys are just one step away from disaster in every second of this suspenseful tale. Van Allsburg's artwork is his characteristic black and white, surreal, humourous and detailed wizardry. The action is edge-of-the-seat and sure to thrill young readers and story listeners in equal measure with Jumanji's jungle adventure as the brothers try to come to terms with the alien environment of the purple planet Zathura. Don't miss this one. It's out of this world!
Rating: 4
Summary: Amazing what Chris Van Allsburg can do with a #2 pencil
Comment: Okay, maybe it is not a #2 pencil. For all I know a professional artist uses a #1 pencil or something special that they only sell at professional art stores. What matters is that Chris Van Allsburg is a wizard with whatever pencil he uses and that I often get distracted in reading his stories because what I really want to do is study the details and the shadings in his artwork because there are always wonderful things to find in each and every drawing.
For those who remember the last page of the Caldecott Medal-winning book "Jumanji," young Danny Budwig was running home with a game tucked under his arm. Now it is twenty years later and we finally get to find out what happens when Danny and his brother Walter open the box and role the dice. It seems that inside the game there was another game called "Zathura" and instead of the jungles this time the Budwig brothers have to deal with the Final Frontier and the next thing you know there is a spaceship outside the window, a robot intent on destroying alien life forms (what we would call human beings), and the scaly tail and lizard-like legs of a space pirate climbing down through a hole in the ceiling.
The story of "Zathura" has some interesting moments, but as always the chief attraction here are the stunning drawings. Outside of the boxes containing the text I wonder what is the largest area of white he has ever left on a page; there might be a couple of white areas that are almost a square inch on the last drawing. Otherwise Van Allsburg seems intent on finding something to do with his pencil on every square inch. In this picture book the part that just blew me away were the reflections of the candlestick on the wood floor (which you might not notice because changes in gravity are doing strange things to the shape of Danny's body).
 |
Title: Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 0395304482 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 27 April, 1981 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: The Garden of Abdul Gasazi by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 039527804X Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 10 October, 1979 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 0395423317 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 28 October, 1986 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 0395353939 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 24 September, 1984 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
 |
Title: The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg ISBN: 0395330750 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 23 March, 1983 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
