Zathura

This article is about the children's book. For the film, see Zathura: A Space Adventure. For other uses, see Zathura (disambiguation).

Zathura

Author	Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrator	Chris Van Allsburg
Cover artist	Chris Van Allsburg
Language	English
Genre	Children's literature, science fiction
Published	2002 (Houghton Mifflin)
Publication place	United States
Pages	32
ISBN	978-0-618-25396-8
OCLC	49031916
LC Class	PZ7.V266 Zat 2002
Preceded by	Bad Day at Riverbend
Followed by	Probuditi!

Zathura is a 2002 illustrated children's book by the American author Chris Van Allsburg. In the story, two boys are drawn into an intergalactic space adventure when their house is magically hurled through space. The book is a standalone spinoff to the 1981 children's picture book "Jumanji", also by Van Allsburg, and visual and textual references are made to "Jumanji" in the story. The book was adapted into a film, titled "Zathura: A Space Adventure", in 2005.

Plot

"Zathura" started from the end of the book "Jumanji", as the parents of two brothers, Danny and Walter Budwing, are leaving. The two brothers don't get along with each other. Danny wanted to play catch, while Walter wanted to watch television. Danny tossed Walter a baseball which hits him on the head. Walter then chased Danny through the house and caught him in the park across the street from their house, where they find a board game named "Jumanji". Danny brought the game home, where he then lost interest in playing it.

Underneath the "Jumanji" board, Danny found another game called "Zathura: A Space Adventure". Danny started playing "Zathura", then he gets a card that said, "Meteor shower, take evasive action." Immediately, a meteor shower occurred. Danny and Walter soon realized that the game sent them into outer space. The brothers started playing the game Zathura", since the game won't take them home unless they finish it. Soon, Walter lost his gravity and Danny saved him from disappearing into space.

When Walter took his turn, a defective robot chased him through the house. When Danny took his turn, he gets close to a planet called Tsouris 3 and got shorter and wider. Soon, a Zorgon ship appeared and Zorgons board their house. The robot chased the Zorgons away as Walter takes his turn and got sucked into a black hole and is sent back in time. Walter transported back to when he was with Danny in the park. Danny found "Jumanji" and is about to take it home, but Walter threw it out and instead offered to play catch with Danny. Evidently, having gone through these dangerous adventures and helping each other has brought the two brothers closer to each other.

Reception

"Publishers Weekly" said the book was a "satisfying enigma" like its predecessor.() "Booklist" said readers of "Jumanji" would also like "Zathura".() Alternatively, "The Horn Book Magazine" said the book did not work as a sequel to "Jumanji" but worked as part of a series.()

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the book titled "Zathura: A Space Adventure" was made in 2005, directed by Jon Favreau. It received positive reviews from critics but was not a commercial success.()() ()

See also

• "Jumanji" (picture book)

External links

• "Zathura" on the author's site