Jumanji

by Chris Van Allsburg

Elements of style and form are some of the strongest elements of Jumanji. Words are centered horizontally and vertically on the left page in large type while maintaining sentence indentation. The pages for type and for pictures are antique white with black text and a thin black border around the edge (exactly matching the size of the picture on the opposing page.) This form allows multiple readers for each book (one to read while the others look at the pictures) and also pulls the reader’s focus to the picture first and then the text. This creates visual units (1 block of text, 1 picture) that are much easier to read. With only 13 visual units to the book it enables reading challenges for short durations. The child reader is encouraged to start the story with only a Medium length page, is given a break in the middle, and is not challenged too heavily near the end. Whether intentional or not the author challenges the child reader and encourages them to continue by teasing them with a few smaller pages. This makes Jumanji an excellent choice for the classroom with a few minutes until the bell.

The picture style I find attractive as it reminds me of old style brown (antique) photos. Combine that with the fact that the drawing is done in sufficient detail to evoke a perception of black and white photographs, and the child reader is drawn into the story with the hint of reality. Having the two main characters male and female also allows readers of both genders to take part in the imagination play which few stories do.

The pictures, starting with a darker tint, also influence the shading of the heavy shadowing used in the images. Without appreciably darkening the images, the use of shadow make the pages more threatening when the action requires. While the characters in the images often have looks of astonishment, they do not wear faces of fear. Again the author/illustrator manages to convey a sense of adventure without evoking fear, even during a rhinoceros stampede.

All in all, Jumanji is a small, well-written and well-designed book for reading practice for motivated and even less than motivated students. For lesson plans see:

http://www.webenglishteacher.com/vanallsburg.html#jumanji