Other editions of book The Swiss Family Robinson

The Swiss Family Robinson is a swashbuckling tale of adventure, written by a Swiss pastor. Wyss wrote the novel for his sons as a lesson book about Christian values and self-reliance. However, Wyss provides plenty of action, making The Swiss Family Robinson a favorite literary escapade. The Swiss Family Robinson follows the plight of a Swiss family, who are shipwrecked in transit from Switzerland to the new world. After they forage what they can from the ship, including many different types of animals who have survived the wreck, they make their way to a tropical island, where they set up camp and try and survive the night. The story is narrated by the father, whose faith in God is used to encourage his worried family, which includes his faithful wife and three incorrigible sons. They face many dangers, including raging storms, wild animals, and even pirates. By working together, they construct a home and a life on the island, and find they are content to live there for the rest of their days, sheltered in an elaborate tree house. The shipwrecked family's adventures never ceases to capture the imagination of children and adults alike. The novel has been adapted into numerous films and television programs, the most famous being the movie produced by Disney. Wyss modeled the tale after Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, which is how the novel begat its title. Title: The Swiss Family Robinson Author: Johann R. Wyss ISBN: 9781775420354 Version: Unabridged Language: English Reader: Solo Female Format: MP3 Audio CD Tracks / Chapters: 30 Chapters Total running time: 12:33:14

The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ship runs aground on a reef, and the family learns the ship's crew has taken to a lifeboat and abandoned them. Subsequent searches for the crew yield no trace. The ship survives the night, and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical island. The ship's cargo of livestock, dogs, guns & powder, carpentry tools, books, a disassembled pinnace, and provisions have survived. The family builds a raft, lashes livestock and the most valuable supplies to it, and paddles to the island, where they set up a temporary shelter. Over the next few weeks they make several expeditions back to the ship, to empty its hold, and harvest rigging, planks, and sails. They construct a small homestead on the island, and the ship's hull eventually breaks up in a storm and founders. The middle of the book is a series of vignettes, covering several years. The father and older boys explore various environments about the island, discover various (improbable) plants and animals, and build a large tree house, complete with a library. They also use the carpentry tools and local resources to build mechanical contraptions. Eventually, sailing the pinnace around the island's coast, they discover a European family hiding from local pirates. They adopt their daughter (who at first masquerades as a boy), and her father returns on a rescue mission, restoring the family's contact to the outside world.(Excerpt from Wikipedia)

The Swiss Family Robinson - father, mother and four young sons (Fritz, Jack, Ernest and Francis) are abandoned on a sinking ship near the rocky shore of an unknown island. The father, a man of energy and resourcefulness, makes a raft which they use to ferry themselves to shore. They establish a camp and are later able to salvage much of the cargo. The story of how the family survives and prospers in their strange surroundings has been a favorite since it first appeared in 1813.

The Swiss Family Robinson recounts the adventures of a father, mother, and four sons marooned on a tropical island. The story unfolds beginning with the tragic storm that claims their ship and the lives of the captain and crew, continuing with their own harrowing battle with the elements and dangerous landing on the remote island shore, and onward through their ingenious use of the materials at hand to survive. They encounter adventure after adventure, with discovery following upon discovery until, at last, they must face the choice of staying on the island that has become their home, or return to a civilization they left behind.