JUMANJI by Van Allsburg, Chris - 1981

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. First Edition. Near fine in like dust jacket.. First edition (no sticker, full number line), review copy of this Caldecott-winning picture book, adapted twice into hit films. Van Allsburg's second book. Art historian Philip Nel notes that Chris Van Allsburg's realistic illustrations for JUMANJI evoke photographs, "a form associated with 'uncompromising truth' and 'documentary.'" This style makes the question of whether the events of the book are real - or whether the children imagined the whole thing - particularly difficult to answer, and adds a touch of magical realism to the story, which earned the 1982 Caldecott medal. JUMANJI has also seen great success on the silver screen, with two star-studded blockbuster adaptations: first in 1995, starring Robin Williams, and again in 2017, starring The Rock and Jack Black.
This reviewer's copy is a snapshot of the book before it became a hot media property. 9.75'' x 10''. Original olive green cloth binding with gilt titles. Original unclipped ($9.95) color pictorial dust jacket. Thick yellow endpapers. Illustrated in black and white. [16] leaves. Publisher's review request flier loosely laid in. Jacket with a touch of edgewear, a couple tiny spots of soil. Binding with small bump to edge; one or two spots of soil to margins of leaves. Clean and sharp.