Swiss Family Robinson

by Ned Butterfield

Motivate students with our best-selling series of high-interest selectionsThis best-selling series motivates students with high-interest selections at a higher readability level Emphasis is on reading nonfiction Critical thinking questions prepare students for state and national testsCritical Reading, a perennial favorite for middle school and high school students of all ability levels, fascinates with astounding and intriguing stories of real-life...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561564591
• ISBN13: 9781561564590
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Kidsbooks LLC
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

The Swiss Family Robinson

"The Swiss Family Robinson" is a great action book that makes you say, "Wow!" and "Oh My Gosh!" I rated this book a "five" because it shows how a family tries to survive on a stranded island. The family had to fight exotic animals like a serpent and a grizzly bear. I was on the edge of my seat when I read about these ferocious fights. The family built a house in a tree so they could survive on the island. It fascinated me to see how this family built this house in three months, and everyone had a part in building this house. Thie book would be good for ages eight to adult.

The Book Of The World!

I really liked the book "The Swiss Family Robinson." It has a lot of action-like things that make it so exiting to read. How the Family Robinson survived without anything, except what was on the shipwreaked boat. It was very cool, with all the exotic animals.The wars against animals made me read on and on for the adventure and excitment. This book is for venturesome readers. You should read it, or you will be missing out.

Read it out loud to your kids for a wonderful experience

Never mind the film versions; the original unabridged Swiss Family Robinson is an exciting epic with a lot in it for the whole family.Our third grade teacher read to us from this book every day and I could hardly wait for the next installment. Finally I got my own copy for a birthday gift, sat on the couch and read it cover to cover in one go. I still have this book, decades later.From the opening, thrilling tempest scene to the very end and the "rescue", this book has plenty of action as well as creative solutions to problems. There is a lot of material for discussion, how the family solved problems, how they handled disagreements, adversity, disappointment, building of character.This book definitely teaches values along with the adventure and the values are linked in such a way as to be an integral part of the story. And Swiss Family Robinson is never boring. There is always an exciting new beast to be discovered, a new plant to use for food or clothing, a new machine or tool to be built, a new part of the island to explore. This is a wonderful book to read out loud to kids until they are old enough to enjoy reading it themselves. If you are bored with re-runs on TV, turn off the box and spend a half-hour or hour every evening reading this aloud. Everyone will have a great time, and kids who are read to, become readers themselves.

A landmark adventure/survival book

There's not many classic books that are more well known than "The Swiss Family Robinson." A Swiss family is stranded on an uninhabited island and there doesn't seem to be any rescues that are lingering around the corner for many years. Soon the family is taming tons of new pets, fighting off animals such as anacondas and lions, and learning how to basically survive off the land the best they can. The Robinson family must keep an eye out for danger while also starting a whole new way of life for themselves.I thought "The Swiss Family Robinson" was a spectacular adventure/survival book. You can say that the book is pretty much a long diary that is kept by the father of the family of everything that happens to them on the island. The book I read did have many references to God unlike some of the abridged editions. The only thing I didn't like about "The Swiss Family Robinson" is that when the family starts collecting and taming many animals that they find on the island, it gets a little tough to keep up with all the animals' names, but that wasn't bad enough to take anything away from the book for me. I recommend anybody who likes survival or adventure books, especially if you like reading the classics, to get "The Swiss Family Robinson." I would recommend getting an unabridged version of the book if you can so you won't miss a word.

In the Top Ten of all Time

But let's be clear right up front. My 5-star rating of this book applies only to the original unabridged version in Johann Wyss' own words. The modernized versions are watered down, time-wasters for word wusses.When I was nine years old I spent months struggling through this book for the first time. The old style language made for rough going, but I persevered. In the end I was rewarded with more than a classic tale marvelously told; I discovered a love of books and earned self-respect for tackling a tough read.If I was a teacher whose task it was to introduce students to classic literature, I would skip Dickens and use this book. Kids love adventure, animals, and action. Swiss Family Robinson has it all. It's really a thriller disguised as a literary classic. All book lovers should read this one at least once.And please don't watch the Disney movie and claim you've "been there, did that" on this story. The movie is totally different and in no way compares.