Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 CST 2002)

Starred Review On the twentieth anniversary of Jumanji, Van Allsburg picks up right where his Caldecott Medal book left off, with a similarly terrifying adventure set this time in outer space. Danny and Walter Budwing, last seen on the final page of Jumanji, find the magical game box in the park. They discover a second game board inside, decorated with space images. Once home, they begin to play, and like Jumanji's Peter and Judy, they are instantly catapulted into the game's parallel universe, which this time involves meteor showers, pirate aliens, violent robots, wild shifts in gravity, and a black hole that finally loops the brothers back to the park, before the chaos began. Despite the new setting, there are few differences between this book and its predecessor; the exquisite surreal black-and-white illustrations once again show neat domesticity blown apart by magic. And like Jumanji, this book creates a delicious tension between the action in the words and the frozen scenes of impending disaster. Here, though, there's another layer: the brothers' rivalry. At the beginning, Walter thinks younger Danny is just an annoying little fungus; by the end, Walter is protective and loving: Me and you, together. Jumanji fans and newcomers alike will delight in this continuation of the story, which ends openly, leaving plenty of room for the game to wreak more havoc in the future.

Horn Book (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2003)

The unspoken question concluding Jumanji--will Danny and Walter Budwing play the game?--is answered here: of course they will. Conceptually tied to Jumanji, this book is visually different, with the pictures creating a claustrophobic intimacy that magnifies the danger. The generally effective story is unfortunately concluded with a heavy-handed message promoting sibling harmony.

Kirkus Reviews

A trite, knock-off sequel to Jumanji (1981). The "Jumanji" box distracts Walter Budwing away from beating up on his little brother Danny, but it's Danny who discovers the Zathura board inside—and in no time, Earth is far behind, a meteor has smashed through the roof, and a reptilian Zyborg pirate is crawling through the hole. Each throw of the dice brings an ominous new development, portrayed in grainy, penciled freeze frames featuring sculptured-looking figures in constricted, almost claustrophobic settings. The angles of view are, as always, wonderfully dramatic, but not only is much of the finer detail that contributed to Jumanji 's astonishing realism missing, the spectacular damage being done to the Budwings' house as the game progresses is, by and large, only glimpsed around the picture edges. Naturally, having had his bacon repeatedly saved by his younger sibling's quick thinking, once Walter falls through a black hole to a time preceding the game's start, his attitude toward Danny undergoes a sudden, radical transformation. Van Allsburg's imagination usually soars right along with his accomplished art—but here, both are just running in place. (Picture book. 6-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Twenty years after <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Jumanji (1981), Van Allsburg picks up where he left off, with Danny and Walter Budwing discovering an oblong box in the park. Walter dismisses the box as "just some dumb old game," but his curious younger brother takes it home anyway. While Walter watches TV, Danny glances at the game's "jungle adventure" board, then turns his attention to a <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">second board with an outer-space theme and "a path of colored squares leading... to a purple planet called Zathura." Just then, "with a click, a small green card popped out of the edge.... He picked it up and read, 'Meteor showers, take evasive action.' " The boys don't act too surprised when a giant meteor falls into their tastefully appointed living room, but they do get excited when they see only stars and dark sky outside their windows. Several dice-rolls later, they're scrambling to evade a homicidal robot and a scaly "Zyborg pirate" climbing backward through the meteor-hole in the ceiling (its face goes unseen). As the boys play, their sibling rivalry gives way to cooperation, and grouchy Walter comes to appreciate his little brother. Van Allsburg illustrates the surreal events in a grainy charcoal-black that seems to shimmer on a rough, cream-colored ground. His deathly quiet images—double spreads this time—have a frozen stillness that leaves all color and activity to the imagination; with each new threat, the book seems to hold its breath. Van Allsburg reuses some devices, and Zathura, like Jumanji, is a satisfying enigma. The puzzling conclusion, involving a black hole and time travel to an earlier illustration, will have devotees scouring the first book and its sequel for clues. All ages. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5-For more than 20 years, readers of Jumanji (Houghton, 1981) have had to wonder what happened when the Budwing brothers opened the box that Peter and Judy had frantically discarded in the park. The wait is over, but the wonder continues in this masterfully executed sequel. Walter's physical torture of his younger brother and Danny's annoying behaviors are classic sibling stuff, but savvy readers will recognize that this lack of camaraderie does not bode well here. The simple jungle board does not appeal to Walter, however, so it is not until another game board is uncovered at the bottom of the box that the action begins. This time, the children face the challenges of space, time, and dimension as they read the game cards: "The polarity on your gravity belt is reversed" and "Your gyroscope is malfunctioning." Their journey to the planet Zathura allows Van Allsburg to depict Walter plastered against the living-room ceiling or being swallowed by a black hole. As ringed planets and spaceships swirl past the windows, the boys find their way to teamwork and even affection. Van Allsburg's choice of highly textured paper adds interest and character; the patterned wallpapers are especially effective as homey counterpoints to the surreal story. The creamy background provides warmth and contrast to the black-and-gray sketches, so convincing in conveying depth of field. One can't help but anticipate the encore.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library