The Swiss Family Robinson

by Eliza Gatewood Warren (Adaptation)

The Robinson family—shipwrecked on a desert island—must discover hidden strength in themselves to survive! Watch as they defend themselves against wild beasts, learn to hunt and fish, and to find shelter. As time passes, they grow to love the wild beauty of their island home, filled with rare animals, exotic birds and fragrant wild flowers. When a ship sails into their bay they must ask themselves if they really want to go home? This timeless story of inner resources and family love has thrilled and delighted young readers for over a hundred years!

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Survival, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade

238 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Kandice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently ordered a lot of 20 of these Great Illustrated Classics. I owned the small paperbacks when I was a child and would read and reread over and over. I bought these in anticipation of grandchildren someday but decided to read them again, and I am so glad I did!

First, the illustrations. Earl Norem illustrates in such a distinctive way. He also did illustrations for magazines and Marvel. Looking at these makes me feel incredible nostalgia. Not only does he capture the story perfectly, but in just a few lines he is able to tell the same story. These little books are so perfect for introducing little ones to literature.

I've read the full version of this novel, but it was decades ago. What I remembered was a fun adventure, lots of animals and ingenuity. Even in this abbreviated form, specifically meant for a younger audience, there was so much violence and death. I don't know that this adaptation would have made it by the well-meaning, but ill-informed, self-appointed censors of today. A monkey is killed and eaten by dogs, and her baby is raised by the family. Many other animals are killed, and while this is certainly what would happen, our current society seems to want to pasteurize and homogenize everything our children read. I think they should be reading things more like this.

This book is about thinking outside the box, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and plain old hard work! It's written in a way that makes it all seem fun. That's a lesson we could all stand to absorb.

[Erin Buerk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bloodbath!

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the writing is somewhat dated the story is still great adventure tale. Very good family classic. Recommended

[Tiffany Smart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I ADORED reading this with my kids. It was such an adventure, especially because their number one favorite thing at Disneyland is the treehouse playground inspired by this book. I really appreciated the abridgment so that my little 5 year old could be included in the fun and understand what was happening.

So why the 3 stars? There were so many spelling and grammatical errors. Come on Great Illustrated Classics! And also, like someone else said, this book is so “convenient.” Need a bowl for washing clothes? Oh look, there’s a giant turtle to kill. Need farm animals? Oh, there are a ton on the bottom of the ship. 🤣🤣 It was so fun from a kids perspective but my adult brain was not buying it.

Lastly, saving this memory for myself. 🤣😅🤣😅We were reading the part about the giant boa constrictor and my 5 year old asked to see what they look like, so we looked up some videos on YouTube because I was all about education! But then we accidentally watched an AI video of a python eating a human. 🤣 My girls were shook. So I suggested we continue reading again to take their minds off the traumatic snake video and then the next part in the book was the giant snake eating the Swiss Family’s pet donkey. Parenting fail that night! 🤦‍♀️

Activity: watched the movie, and then opened oyster shells with pearls inside. While reading we all drew pictures of what our tree house would look like.

Pace: fast and engaging
Rating: PG - lots of animas die, but it was circle of life stuff
Format: kindle and physical book

[Emma Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun family read along before bed!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swiss Family Robinson is about the Robinson family. They were traveling to New Guinea to set up a colony. On their journey they hit a rock during a storm and got stranded. They tried to get to the lifeboats but when they got to the top deck the crew had already abandoned ship. They decided it would be better to stay on the ship than jump off, so they waited out the storm. In the morning the sun was shining and they could see an island. They started to make a lifeboat out of barrels that were on the ship. Then they hauled up all of the animals and supplies onto their boat and set out for the island. Once they got to shore they built a temporary home. After exploring they decided it would be best to build a home in the trees. That way predators couldn't get them. The Robinson family then had to make it with things they could find on the island and the few supplies they got off the ship. Will the Robinson family make it off the island or will they all die trying to survive?
I thought that The Swiss Family Robinson was a really good book I liked the adventure and the survival stuff in the book. Some parts seemed to drag on and I didn't really like that. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure or survival stories.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the few times I will say that I prefer what Disney did with the story. Perhaps, it was because the book was the abridged adaptation, but the family seems thrilled to have been shipwrecked and can't wait to set up a homestead. That would have still made for a delightful story if they hadn't shot something in every single chapter. All of the boys have guns and they shoot first and regret later, especially when they shoot, for no good reason, beasts of burdens or other creatures that could be used by the family in other ways. They even shoot a shark (spoilers!) Alice wasn't quite old enough to follow the story and really only got into it during the scary bits with the boa constrictor and the goat.

[Shauna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was lame. I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare it to that, though I have heard the movie is better. There was no plot to this book, just a bunch of Look What We Killed Today, And This Is What We Can Turn It Into. This family was stranded, yet they eat better each night than most people I know. I would like to have seen some character developement here. They each age 10 years, but they don't change. Lame. The kids liked it okay. They kept asking to see the pictures of the dead animals. Hmm...

[Jordan Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nostalgic reread. I ended up finishing for myself because my daughter completely lost interest half-way in which I totally understand.

[Elizabeth L.]

I am almost finished reading the book The Swiss Family Robinson By: Johann Wyss I have really been enjoying this book because it is very interesting and really shows the characters feelings and thoughts. The main idea of this story is about a family who was on a cruise and the ship wrecked and every one was split apart but somehow the Robinson family managed to stay together. They where stranded on an island. It is interesting to see all the adventures that they go through like making there own house and hunting for their own food. Even though the trip didn’t go as planned they got to have more family bonding time and had to work together as a team.

This book relates to me because when I lived in California I had to leave my friends and that was tough but somehow I managed to push through it and move on. Now I have a lot of friends here in Austin. So if something doesn’t go your way there will most likely be something good that will come out of it even though it is tough, just like what the Robinson family had to go through.


I think the overall theme of this story is, “Things might not be easy but you can make something good come out of it”. The Robinson family had to go through a lot of hard things but they managed to make the best of a bad situation.

[Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was okay. I think my daughters might give it a 4... but I am tempted to give it a 3. I should think the unabridged version would be better but we did enjoy the illustrations, also. The story is quite idealized in that for all they go through, they have a lot of easy and successful efforts and cheery attitudes. My daughters (ages 10 & 8) would chuckle over how unprobable things were at times (like they make a big welcome sign at one point but my girls were wondering where they found or what they used for a writing utensil). My daughters and I also chuckled at times because the things the boys said sounded like something my son would say. I think jr would be especially popular with young boys, though my girls liked it, as well. It’s an enjoyable, light adventure read whose original reasons for being written (writing down imagined bedtime tales by the author’s father) are readily apparent. We enjoyed the read, despite or maybe because of the saccharine storyline wherein there was almost exclusively great joy and delight on the part of abandoned and shipwrecked upper class English men. This version was quite short and to the point. I’d be curious to compare it to the original.

[Mary McDonald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I realize this is a children's classic, however I did not care for the story. First of all, I was horrified at all the animals that are killed, really many times for no reason or without feeling. Yes, maybe they need to kill an animal to eat, but they had plenty of food and the attitude seemed to be shoot first and ask questions (think) later. It didn't always make sense to me. Secondly, the father in the story was a preacher, but seems to also have an advanced PHD in mechanical engineering with all the rigging he does with ordinary materials. I found it unbelievable. There was also a typo in the edition I read. I AM glad I read it, being it's a classic and I've always wanted to know the story.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much is wrong in this book. I know it was written before much exploration had been done but the idea of so many different animals all on this one island (kangaroos, elephants, lions, penguins, etc) is ludicrous. Also, there was so much killing of animals - it seemed heartless. Especially the iguana 🦎.

It read like the box car children. Very little sadness and concern over their situation, just cheerfulness and patient perseverance.

[Booknblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom read it to me as a kid for the first time and then I read it when I was a bit older. What a great fun story. I absolutely loved it. I dreamed of being marooned on an island and living in a tree house. Really what could be more fun?

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good read-aloud for my kids and me. Just the right length. We flew through it with my 9-year-old son repeatedly asking for more and more chapters each day. Next up, we’re doing a family movie night. It will be fun to compare how they are different and the same.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eli loved it

[Aden · Rating 5 out of 5]

happy and sad these castaways are a amzing story

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to my 3rd and 4th graders

[Sarah Messer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read out loud to my 4 year old Malachi and he gobbled it right up! More animal killing in this book than I remembered though. We are on to our next illustrated classic!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book was something else. Given, it was originally published in 1813 when not that much of the world was known, much of it is completely wrong and impossible, and the animals they killed just for the heck of it wouldn't fly today.

So- the Robinson family leave Switzerland- mother, father, and 3 sons- by ship to reach an island near New Guinea to start a new colony. First the sailing ship battled a storm for a week and then it crashed into a rock and split apart. The sailors all got into life boats and deserted the ship, never to be seen again. The Robinsons stayed on the ship, made a raft of barrel halves tied together, and then headed toward shore of a desert island with as many provisions as they could carry. Here's the crazy part: in the ten years they lived there they saw these animals, none of which can be found in South Pacific Islands: Walrus, Kangaroos, Lions, Porcupines, and Elephants. There are boa constrictors, but when they encountered one they couldn't kill it by shooting it because theirs had thick scales impervious to bullets. I don't think that is true.

They seem to easily make everything they need out of the materials taken from the ship, or found on the island, including a 18' bridge across a river.

This was a light read that has to be taken at face value.

[Lexxs Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot more death and animal cruelty than anticipated. My sons thought it was awesome hearing how the Swiss family Robinson made use of their latest prey each chapter. Mentioned my thoughts to the husband, and he just grinned, saying he loved it as a young boy too hearing how the turtle carcass was converted to a washbasin or the ostrich eggs into a vase. While not my favorite, obviously, it tickles the fancy of boys through generations 😅

[Kelsey Shenk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. The picture on every page helped my 5yr old stay engaged, but the abridged version fell flat in a read aloud form. My 8yr old loved all the killing (of animals) and the small adventures they went on, but honestly they left out some of the best adventures from the large book so I wasn’t too pleased with this version.

The kids loved the Disney adaptation from 1960, so all around a fun read aloud + movie experience!

[Hailey Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

read with wesley! I loved the pictures and general story!Such fun adventure and resourcefulness. but WAY too much of unnecessary animal killing. I understand the need to defend against dangerous animals, but EVERY single new animal they found they killed. It was tricky censoring because these animals were often in the pictures. not sure I’d read to a four year old again :/

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

while this functions well as a children’s book—i read it quite a few times when i was younger—it is expectedly lackluster upon rereading

and for being an island this place has every biome and animal imaginable! plus that eagle strong as shit!

[Kaitlyn Schwitters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love these little great American classics books and I grew up reading them. I was very disappointed to realize that they are abridged versions of the real book, but easier for reading aloud to kids for sure!

[Ciara Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading this as a tween!

[bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great adventure story with my kids to read, it is a survival story so it laid down some pretty tough truths but the ending was sweet.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it was because it was a read aloud for the kids, maybe it was because it was simplified, maybe it just wasn’t my thing. I didn’t like it.

[Jack Rowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

All in all I really liked this book. It was a real page turner, from the start I could not put it down. My favorite parts of the book were when the family had constructed their home and had worked together to solve their problems the mom had said “If it be the will of God," said my wife, "to leave us alone on this solitary place, let us be content; and rejoice that we are all together in safety.” showing that she had took it as a blessing that they where left on this island. The purpose of the author writing to book was to show how all of the troubles that the family faced that as long as they had stayed together. That mixed with adventure and action made for a great story.

This book has had an every lasting impact on the audience and will leave a lasting impact on me. As you can tell by how old the book is it had left and active impact on young readers and lets the mind of them run wild.I had really enjoyed the book and i would recommend it to a friend or family member. I would do this because i had thought that it was a real adventure book that could capture the minds of young readers everywhere.“It was one of those happy days that God grants us sometimes on earth to give us an idea of the bliss of heaven.” Looking back at how the family had blessed every day as if it was their last.

The book was written very well and I love how the author had incorporated all of the extra elements to make it just that much better. the way the family had stuck together and worked their way out of it till they were rescued was what the real way to show how to stay together when thing are against you. Something i thought that was weak about the book was they had some unrealistic animals in the area and it didn't take anything away from it, i just thought it would make it better.

I did think that the book was captivating and that i could relate to one of the characters. For starter i could most relate to Fritz because he is the oldest boy and was the one that had assisted he dad the most. My favorite section with Fritz in it was when they where bringing back the animals from the ship to the shore and the sharks trying to get to the animals. I love the way he had acted around others and the way he developed as a character as time had went on.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by James, age 8, 12/16/17

This book starts out on a ship that gets caught in a storm and is shipwrecked. All the lifeboats are gotten before the family can get their kids off and so they miss the lifeboats and so they make boat-ish things out of barrels and paddle them to the shore.
They end up on an uninhabited island, but they don't know it at the time.
They make a tent. The next day they take supplies from the ship. But soon they found the tent is unsafe because of the wild animals. So they built a tree house - a huge one. It started out small but then they make it bigger.
They made candles and the dad constructed a spinning wheel. They found lots of supplies on the island: they found rubber (from a tree) and other things. But they felt like prisoners in winter so when spring finally arrived they started digging a cellar. One of the boys' pickaxes broke the crust, revealing a huge salt cave. And so they decided to make this salt cave a winter settlement area. The papa took bamboo and created a pipeline that went between the treehouse and the winter settlement. It used vacuum to pump the water up. Now they had running water, and so they added in things like a library, and dug out more salt cave.
The book ended when a ship found the island and was going to claim the island as theirs and named it, but instead the family came out and said "no, we already have three settlements." Some of the family went home with the ship but others liked it so much they stayed and now there is a small town on the island.
Three things I liked about this book: (1) The adventure, (2) the inventions, (3) the miraculous brother who was able to tame pretty much anything.
Q: Would you live on their island? A: That's a tricky question, because I'm really used to our modern life at home. Fine, I would live on their island if I lived in their time. Because they didn't have modern technology at the time and their island would probably be a better place to live. Not to mention we could construct a good house of our choice and we wouldn't have to pay taxes to the wicked king.