Elementary students turn detectives to solve the case of a library book returned 43 years late

When Jill Brave tore open a package addressed to the Stillman Elementary School library, she found a hardback copy of Jumanji and a money order for $40. There was no explanation, and no real return address, just that of the Drums post office in Luzerne County.

There were scant other clues: In the back of the book was a manila library envelope, with a checkout card that read, “Jessica, 5/26/82.″ There was also a handwritten note: “Please return to Mrs. Wilbur in 5 days,” with the ‘5′ underlined twice.

The careful emphasis on the five-day loan apparently didn’t have much of an impact, because the book was returned last week, roughly 43 years late. NBC New York first reported its return.

Brave, the librarian at the Tenafly, N.J. elementary school, was delighted by the book’s journey. She doesn’t charge fines for overdue books anyway, unless a child loses one entirely and it needs to be replaced. But here Jumanji was, fully intact.

“I don’t know that many people who would find a book after so long and go to the trouble,” she said. “I would like to thank them.”

The only question was who to thank. Who was Jessica, and had she sent the package? If not, who did?

Brave enlisted the students of Stillman in the search, creating an evidence wall connected by yarn (“very technical, very advanced, high crime,” she explained) in the library. The map features a Stillman staff photo from 1982, the year of the ill-fated checkout; a copy of the obituary of Marie L. Wilbur, Stillman’s former librarian, who wrote the ignored date due note; and the address of the Western Union in Sugarloaf, Pa., where the $40 money order was purchased.

Brave and the students found that there were five Jessicas enrolled at Stillman in 1982. They may end up investigating each one, though they also want to respect the privacy of the person who mailed it.

Perhaps in a quest for evidence, kids are now asking to read Jumanji “with such interest,” said Gayle Lander, Stillman’s principal. Published in 1981, just a year before it was checked out from the Stillman school library (almost) forever, Jumanji tells the story of two bored kids who stumble upon a mysterious board game and don’t follow the instructions, unintentionally summoning chaos.

“It’s kind of a cautionary tale about reading directions, about following instructions, and what can go wrong if you don’t,” Brave said ominously.

The teachers and students hope someone will come forward to claim responsibility for the late book, only so that they can be thanked properly.

“You’re not in trouble,” Brave said.