Super Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit

Super Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit is a Golden Look-Look Book written by Jack C. Harris. The 24-page book was illustrated by Art and Kim Ellis and published by in July 1989. (However, some sources say it was published in 1990, like the other two Golden Books.)  It is aimed at very young readers.

A book-and-cassette version was also made. The audio cassette was narrated by William Woodson, and it featured Lou Albano, Danny Wells, and Jeannie Elias (the respective voice actors for Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!) reading their characters' lines, while John Stocker replaced Harvey Atkin (the original voice actor for King Koopa in the DIC Mario cartoons) while reading Koopa's lines.

Plot
Mario and Luigi are cleaning a clogged sewer underneath a fortune-teller's store in Brooklyn when they are accidentally sucked into a Warp Zone and taken to the Mushroom Kingdom. They have no choice but to work for Princess Toadstool until they can find a way back home.

Later, the brothers are seen repairing the palace's pipes while King Koopa travels down the corridor, intending to kidnap Toadstool. Mario, who is out of mushrooms for his "mushroom-and-jelly sandwiches," travels farther along the passageway, but after finding fresh ones growing in the area, he witnesses Koopa. Mario decides to take action and swallows a mushroom, knowing it is a Red Mushroom. He chases Koopa and his underlings off in his giant form, but Koopa uses magic to shrink him and tangle him in pipes. Luigi, who is searching for his brother as he picks flowers, notices the Koopa Troopas harassing Mario and saves him from Koopa by using a Fire Flower to fend him and his minions off. After Luigi untangles Mario from the pipes, the brothers try to flee from the Koopa Troop in hope of warning Toadstool about the oncoming minions, but the brothers instead fall into a deep pit beneath the floor. Meanwhile, Koopa and another squadron of Koopa Troopas invade the princess's throne room, ambush her and her royal guards, and throw her into the pit with the Mario Brothers.

After Koopa locks the exit, the Mario Brothers ponder what to do to escape, since their power-ups are useless. However, when Toadstool suggests they cooperate to escape the pit, Mario grows larger by polishing off his final Red Mushroom, allowing him to reach the top of the pit. Luigi, while standing on Mario's palm, sprays the remaining fire in his Fire Flower to burn down the locked door. After the Mario Brothers and Toadstool escape, Luigi drives off Koopa and his underlings by opening a water pipe. Mario, Luigi, and Toadstool then return to the castle to celebrate their victory. The book ends with Mario complaining that he has no mushrooms left for his "mushroom-and-jelly-sandwiches" and Luigi quipping, "I'd face a hundred other dark and perilous pits, but I'd hate to see what's down in the pit of Mario's stomach!"

Illustration errors

 * While the cover shows Luigi trying to break through a standard wooden door, the illustrations in the book show the trapdoor on the ceiling, much like an actual pit.
 * There are several illustration errors in the book. Some noticeable ones are Mario without his hat when he is tangled up in the pipes and a Koopa Troopa without his shell or arms when Luigi is washing Koopa and his troops away.

Trivia

 * At the June 2013 Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, Charles Martinet, the voice actor for Mario and Luigi, narrated the contents of the book in Mario's and Luigi's voices.