Jumanji

Chris Van Allsburg's Jumanji is a short, spooky picture book for 6 year olds about a board game that won't stop until somebody wins.

What happens

Peter and Judy's parents have gone out to the opera. The children have tipped every toy out of the toy chest, made a terrible mess, and now they're bored. So they cross the road to the park and find a long thin box at the foot of a tree.

It's a jungle adventure game. A note taped to the box says it's fun for some but not for all. (That really should have been their first clue.)

The rules look ordinary enough, apart from the last one, in capital letters. Once you start, you can't stop until one player reaches the golden city at the end of the board.

Peter rolls first. The square says a lion attacks. When he turns round, there's a lion lying on the piano, licking its lips.

From then on, every roll brings a bit more jungle into the house. Monkeys wreck the kitchen. It rains in the living room. Rhinos charge through the dining room and flatten the furniture. The only way out is to keep on playing.

It's a very quick read and it builds beautifully. Each turn is a little worse than the one before, and you'll probably find yourselves holding your breath before every roll of the dice. Judy is the brave one here. Peter just wants to ring the zoo (fair enough, really).

A lion chasing Peter up the stairs is quite a lot of excitement for this shelf. He hides under a bed while it tries to squeeze in after him, and later a python wraps itself round the clock above the fireplace. Nobody gets hurt, and it's all more thrilling than gruesome. Still, if your reader is scared of big animals, it's probably one to share rather than hand over at bedtime.

For a child who loves a what-if, it's perfect. What would come out of the box if YOU rolled the dice? And do keep an eye on the ending.

What to read next

If they love a wild animal turning up where it has no business being, try the first Fantastic Frame book. Tiger Brooks's little sister swears there's a pig in a top hat on the swing set, and next door there's a painting of a jungle tiger that's far scarier than it should be.