"Peter," she whispered, "turn around very, very slowly."
The boy turned in his chair. He couldn't believe his eyes. Lying on the piano was a lion, staring at Peter and licking his lips.
In elementary school, I was the type of kid that always got my work done quickly. This gave me a lot of time to explore my teachers' classroom libraries. In third grade, I would almost always choose this book to read. I loved the idea of a horrific board game that comes to life. I would sometimes read every word of the book, but mostly I poured over the illustrations.
Van Allsburg is one of my favorite illustrators because he takes fantasy and turns int into the most lifelike images I ever ever seen. I love every detail. The cobra has the same pattern as the arm chairs. The lions hip bones poke out as he hunts for the children under the bed. The lamp cord wraps around the rhinoceros's snout.
Santa was good to me this year and got it for me. It is difficult to find an available copy of this book at the library. My at home library is one book closer to completion.
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