Here are 100 books that Jumanji fans have personally recommended if you like
Jumanji.
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I am a father of grown children, and I once believed there would always be more time. The ordinary days felt endless, until they weren't. My children grew, and the days I wished away became the ones I missed. The loss of my son made time feel different. Since then, I see people differently. We spend much of life shaping, correcting, and comparing, while each person is already becoming who they are. I am drawn to stories that honor people as they are, imperfect, different, and unrepeatable, because simply being here is enough.
Those monsters with their yellow eyes and yellow teeth bring back all the memories. It reminds me of making tents with blankets under the table, and the adventures that would follow.
Even the boy's name, Max, feels like anything is possible. Max is snarky, and that's exactly who he is, wonderful in his own way. It's a treasure I still bring out today, to remember those glorious days.
Read-along with the story in this book and CD edition!
One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper.
That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins.
But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet,…
I've been a psychologist for 35 years, and for my whole life I've been fascinated by our inner worlds and concepts that are hard to grasp but affect us significantly. I read these books to help myself and my clients, and I keep developing as a person through them. I have read a lot about ego and development, and many of the books in this genre are difficult to access for the general reader. I have chosen these five books for their skill in making complex issues easier to understand. I truly believe that a commitment to self-development leads not just to reaching your goals and realising your potential, but to contentment and happiness.
I love how this little children’s book summarises some complex adult concepts in easy-to-understand ways.
The story is full of ups and downs, sparking in me sadness and joy. There is the literal meaning of the story, but the metaphorical one is what interests me. The prince represents eternal youth – innocent, playful, and comes to earth to learn about adult life.
My favourite example of the call to maturity is when the prince meets the fox, and the fox teaches the prince about how authentic relationships help ‘tame’ his ego. We learn the importance of being reliable and caring and trustworthy in our relationships.
We learn that to really connect with someone, we need to shift our egos from ME to WE, and that this is a very important stage of our maturity. We also learn that what matters, what is the most important thing in life, is invisible,…
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as 'The Little Prince'. Richard Howard's new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupery's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in colour Saint-Exupery's original artwork. By combining the new…
I am a father of grown children, and I once believed there would always be more time. The ordinary days felt endless, until they weren't. My children grew, and the days I wished away became the ones I missed. The loss of my son made time feel different. Since then, I see people differently. We spend much of life shaping, correcting, and comparing, while each person is already becoming who they are. I am drawn to stories that honor people as they are, imperfect, different, and unrepeatable, because simply being here is enough.
The Giving Tree. Unconditional Love. Sacrificial Love.
I first read this when I was young. I was heartbroken for the tree and furious with the boy. In fact, I would cry on the inside as the tree became less. Not fully understanding that the tree was really becoming much more.
As I've matured, I've come to understand that more important than myself is a vision of love that is giving of myself, in a deep, meaningful way.
To me, this book conveys that the heart of life is not possession, but devotion.
As recommended by Meghan Markle as the one book she can't wait to share with her child - the timeless fable about the gift of love
Once there was a little tree ... and she loved a little boy.
So begins the classic bestseller, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.
Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk ... and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree…
I’ve always found the art of storytelling to be important. It’s taken me to places I’ve dreamed of as well as places others have created. Drawing has always been my passion, and the desire to entertain audiences of all ages has matured with time. When I realized I could make my own stories and illustrate them, it was clear that it was something I wanted to do. I always appreciated books that spoke up to me rather than down or too simply. The books on this list do just that.
The story itself evokes memories of dreams and nightmares, but Arthur Rackham’s drawings made me want to draw and tell stories through images.
I knew the curious story of Alice before seeing Rackham’s illustrations and loved the predicaments, characters and how random everything was. His drawings completed the story, and I saw the pair as a perfect match; they were rich and on point with how my imagination wanted them to be.
Arthur Rackham’s illustrations paint Alice’s fantasy world in dark, ethereal tones in this enchanting edition of Lewis Carroll’s beloved children’s story.
Tumbling down a rabbit hole, young Alice finds herself in an incredibly strange fantasy land full of curious characters. Lewis Carroll’s 1865 children’s book is one of the most well-known stories of all time. This edition of the beloved tale is accompanied by haunting illustrations from one of the greatest artists of the Golden Age of Illustration, Arthur Rackham. His portrayal of Wonderland is as disturbing as it is enchanting. A dark world painted in hues of brown,…
I live in my imagination. I never really grew out of seeing imaginary friends and fantastical elements in the world. Every budding flower or dancing sun shadow is a call to create. This is why I find children’s literature so thrilling and why my own writing often resides within the realm of make-believe. I love kids lit because it allows a grown-up like me to be a kid again – even if it’s just for a few pages.
Ruby’s Sword explores the type of imaginative play that can be had with natural world elements. Letting your kids explore nature in a tangible way does wonders for their learning and ingenuity. A simple stick turns into a sword, turning a little girl into a gallant knight. Our children do not need colourful plastic toys to have fun. All they need is a little fresh air and something as simple as a stick. Once my family moved out to the country, I saw my children transform before my eyes. Rocks have become treasures and bugs their newest friends. With the first signs of spring, socks are flung aside as their naked toes seek sand and grass. Let your kids fall in love with nature and it will be a love affair that lasts a lifetime.
Ruby is always racing after her big brothers. But no matter how hard she tries, she can never catch up. Then one day, she discovers some sticks in the grass. Not just any sticks-swords! And suddenly the world is her kingdom. Readers will cheer on Ruby's perseverance and creativity as they delight in the antics of the adorable animals that join her along the way. Anyone who has ever imagined themselves the star of their own swashbuckling adventure will find this sweet book irresistible.
You get more mums than dads in books for young readers. Perhaps that’s understandable. Mums still loom largest in the lives of younger children. One way or another, it would be good to have more fathers present in the lives of children, and it would be good to have more fathers in children’s books. So I’ve chosen five books featuring fathers who are both at the centre of the story and more alive than the caricatures. The books are ordered roughly by age of the reader: younger first, older last. I hope there’s something new for you to find and enjoy.
It’s raining. Pete can’t go out to “play ball with the guys.” So he’s in a bad mood. His father thinks it might cheer Pete up to be made into a pizza. He’s right, of course! Dad kneads him and twirls him up in the air. He sprinkles on cheese (actually torn-up bits of paper) and puts him in the oven (actually the sofa).
This is a celebration of the parents’ trick of distracting a grumpy child with a bit of zany humour. (Best trick in the book, as far as I’m concerned.) And what a wonderfully loving, inventive, energetic dad William Steig has created! Pete laughs “like crazy”. And the sun comes out at the end.
Pete's father starts kneading the dough. Next, some oil is generously applied. (Its really water.) And then some tomatoes. (They're really checkers.) When the dough gets tickled, it laughs like crazy.
I am a retired professor of kinesiology at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. I am the former president of the North American Society for Sport History and vice-president of the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport, as well as a Fulbright Scholar. I have presented my research in more than three dozen countries and have over 250 publications, including 31 books, most of which pertain to sports history and sociology. I draw on my own history for inspiration and believe that sport has inspirational lessons for life.
This book examines the social control of Jewish immigrant youth in New York City through the use of supervised playgrounds that drew the children from street life to organized games and activities.
Sports taught rules and regulations, a WASP sense of morality and middle class values, and competition, which served as the basis for the capitalist economy. Sport served as an opiate for the masses, altering traditional work and leisure patterns, effecting a new social order, while it desecrated the Jewish Sabbath for some in the process of assimilation.
Keiko Kasza is an award-winning author/illustrator of picture books. Though she uses animals as her book characters, the subjects are always related to issues that young children face. Humor and a surprise ending are the signatures of her work.
A monster goes to Pete’s house with the intention to eat him. Pete asks the monster to play with various games and toys. The monster reluctantly does so, but each time the text goes, “He didn’t want to play...because he wanted to...EAT PETE!” Then something shocking happens – he eats Pete! Let me assure you, though, the ending is very sweet.
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author picked
Eat Pete
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
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5.
What is this book about?
From the creator of Goodnight Goon, a laugh-out-loud friendship story that perfectly captures the high and low moments of a typical playdate!
Pete couldn't be more thrilled when a monster shows up in his bedroom. Now Pete has someone to play with! And the hungry monster couldn't be more thrilled to be there, either. Now he can . . . EAT PETE!
But Pete has other ideas. And they are all good fun and quite distracting--things like playing cars and pirates. Well, we all know the course of playing together nicely never did run smoothly. So how much longer will…
Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.
Two siblings with very different personalities. The fun of following these two characters grows with every scene. A very skillful, beautiful depiction of the richness of life and creative collaboration. A funny and endearing book.
We have seen a few great odd couples in picture books already, but filled with possibility as the world is, there's always room for one more pair, especially if they are as charming and unforgettable as these pigs, born from the brushes and prolific imagination of Kerascoet. Kerascoet lives and works in Paris in the worlds of cartooning and illustration. Best known for illustrating the book Miss Don't Touch Me written by Hubert, as well as a couple of the Lewis Trondheim Dungeon books, their most recent book Beautiful Darkness broke out on the US scene in 2014, winning them…
Before I was an author-illustrator, I was an elementary school teacher for many years. One of my favorite things about teaching was reading to students and helping them find books they love. Seeing kids connect with books motivated me to write and illustrate books; the character Reggie is very much inspired by my young students! Humorous books with lots of pictures often get kids hooked on reading, which is why I’ve selected funny graphic novels for this list. There’s no shortage of great comics for kids, so I chose books I also would have loved as a kid–silly and sweet, starring animal characters with real, kid-like feelings.
Duck and Moose are a duo that immediately grabbed my attention and won my heart! This short graphic novel is filled with hilarious moments, and I especially love the theme about imaginary play (and compromise) which young readers and their grownups will surely relate to.
The second book in a laugh-out-loud early graphic novel series perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly! Quiet-loving Moose's life is turned upside down by free-wheeling Duck. The two will need to put their differences aside if they're ever going to be neighbors...or friends!
Moose loves playing astronaut. Imagining his helmet, his seatbelt, and rocketing off into space are his favorite things to do! One day, Moose invites Duck to play with him. But there’s just one problem—Duck doesn’t know how to use his imagination! Moose teaches him but soon becomes frustrated because Duck doesn’t play astronaut the “right” way.…
