Title: The Swiss Family Robinson
Author: Johan Wyss
ISBN: 0-448-06022-1
388 pages
Grosset & Dunlap, 1999 edition

When I asked my local librarian for books intended for 'tweens' and told her about the course I was taking, this is the first book she pointed out. I had heard the name before, but did not really know what it was or what to expect. The cover is horribly cheesy and although it is a 1999 printing, the book looks ancient.

Description:

Narrated by the ever-so-manly father of the family Robinson, the story details the account of the family as they attempt to travel to Australia. On their way, the family becomes shipwrecked and must rely on their knowledge of flora and fauna as well as their carpentry and other learned skills to survive. While it is considered one novel, it plays out more like a series of interconnected short stores. Some of them include the family building a bridge across treacherous terrain. Another example is the building of a tree house in which the family so famously lives. Others include buffalo hunts and salt cavern and even the discovery of a skeleton. Through it all the family with their four sons must rely on their wits to survive their strange and tropical new surroundings.

Review:

This is one of the few books that I have selected for review where, from reading, there was derived almost zero satisfaction. The initial few chapters were fun as we learn about the family and their shipwreck. But once the family settles in, the book reads more like an Audobon Society manual or a how-to guide than a children's book. So much of the text is concerned with the flora and fauna of their tropical home and the skills needed to tame it. The author goes on, ad nauseum, over the most trivial of details. There are some exciting adventures mixed in to the story, but the building of tree-huts and bridges is not exactly my idea of fun. I have co-worker who's son loves engineering, building and mechanical types of things and I have a feeling he may very well enjoy a book like this. However, for most 'tweens' or adults, they may find this book quite the bore.