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    The Swiss Family Robinson
    The Swiss Family Robinson
    The Swiss Family Robinson
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Swiss Family Robinson

    Written by Johann David Wyss

    Narrated by George Guidall

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    About this audiobook

    This story, long considered a young adult classic, holds a rich fascination for mature readers as well. Share with the Robinsons-a minister, his wife, and four sons-as they survive a shipwreck and then adapt to life on an island populated by exotic birds and animals. Through small successes and disappointments, not only does this courageous family survive, but comes to find a happiness that eluded them in their civilized homeland.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 7, 2014
    ISBN9781428193697
    Author

    Johann David Wyss

    Johann David Wyss was a Swiss writer best known for his children’s classic The Swiss Family Robinson. A pastor in Bern, Switzerland, Wyss’s writing was influenced by his four sons, and was intended to serve as a moral guide for self-reliance, farming, cooperation, and frugality. Wyss died in 1818 at the age of 74, six years after the publication of The Swiss Family Robinson.

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    Reviews for The Swiss Family Robinson

    4/5

    29 ratings19 reviews

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    • 2/5
      As an adult this story is ridiculously irritating.The ship they were shipwrecked from happened to be outfitting a colony and therefore has all the tools and growing crops you could wish for. The island has a good selection of edible plants, trees and animals, as well as running potable water. The family between them can manage everything and know how to do everything they need without having a survival manual to hand.If you can get past all that it's a good and classic novel.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It's been a very long time since I read this, but I think I still have my original copy from the Junior Deluxe Editions book club my parents signed me up for. I'm sure I read it more than once, because I have such clear memories of the adventures. I especially loved how they could always find things they needed on the wrecked ship.
    • 2/5
      I remember trying to read this book when I was a child. I didn't enjoy it. I did, however, enjoy the movie better. The story concerns a Swiss family's adventure in the South Pacific after being shipwrecked. It's a story of survival. After seeing another person's review here on LibraryThing, I decided to revisit the book to see if my adult tastes in reading made a difference in my like/dislike of the book. Unfortunately I found that the book had not aged well, even though it is considered a classic. It's one of the few books which fall into the category, "Skip the book; watch the movie instead."
    • 2/5
      The Swiss Family Robinson, first published in 1812, is considered a staple of children's adventure fiction. Somehow I must have missed it growing up, and unfortunately it wasn't the fun read I was expecting. It was—dare I admit it?—rather boring. I was expecting adventure; what I got was a list of inventions and how they were invented. After awhile I grew tired of the descriptions of plants and their uses, the narrator's random useful knowledge and ingenuity, the details of every innovation, the management of their various homes and outposts, etc. And where, oh where are the pirates?This is, of course, one of the more successful imitators of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and it's fun to think of Johann Wyss's children gathering around him to listen to the adventures of the Swiss Robinsons. And it did inspire the old Disney movie, which is an utterly ridiculous and lovable film. I appreciated Wyss's deliberate inclusion of moral lessons, though I might approach things a bit differently than the narrator with my own children. Despite the general fact-reporting style of the narrative, there are a few humorous bits, like this wry observation:I constructed a couple of hen-coops, too, for the hens and their little chicks which we had brought from Woodlands, for I knew that if I left them unprotected, the inquisitive dispositions of Knips and Fangs might induce them to make anatomical experiments which would be detrimental to welfare of the youngsters. (300)The edition I read from Puffin is the most popular English translation by W. H. G. Kingston, and I didn't find it particularly well done. Misplaced modifiers, comma splices, and other such failings are the order of the day. I found this copy secondhand and it has its own little history, I think. The inside cover is inscribed to "Zoë" from "Papa" for Christmas 2004. I can't help but imagine some fond grandfather giving his granddaughter a book he loved and hoping that she would enjoy it just as he had. Well, it's a paperback and didn't show any signs of ever having been read when I bought it. I hope Papa never found out. Though I can't say I really blame Zoë, either. Disappointing.
    • 5/5
      Swiss Family Robinson is a great family adventure story. Its old but still a great read with lots of action. If you like this definitely try Kidnapped.
    • 4/5
      This classic tale of adventure is a perfect story to place in the graphic novel format with it’s exciting story and colourful backdrop. When their ship strikes a reef and they are abandoned by the crew, this family manages to survive the storm and salvage many necessary ingredients to their survival on a isolated tropical island. In fact not only do they survive, they manage to thrive and create a wonderful colony that eventually, when they are discovered, lures more people to join them.With four sons in the family, it is a given that there will be adventures galore. Sharks and jaguars, tree houses and caves, all are drawn in great detail, and this book, originally published in German in 1812 springs to life on these pages.Although simplistic and somewhat abbreviated , this graphic version is a wonderful introduction (or re-visit) to the classic original, especially as it cuts down somewhat on the dated religious views and overly sentimental family values that are strewn throughout the book. Published by Campfire Graphic Novels, this is just one in a large series of classics such as Kim, Prisoner of Zenda, Gulliver’s Travels and many more. Re-visiting the Swiss Family Robinson was a fun way to spend an afternoon.
    • 4/5
      Written from the perspective of the father, it chronicles the first-hand account of the shipwreck and survival of a Swiss family of six on a remote island somewhere near New Guinea. The family consists of a Swiss pastor who is a walking encyclopedia on agricultural practices from around the world; his wife who excels in equal measure with culinary skills, and four energetic sons. Displaying remarkable resilience and resourcefulness, they survive completely alone for over ten years until their rescue. In the process, they create their own European civilization, showing complete mastery over animals and plants, and creatively establishing houses. The bulk of the novel consists of their struggle for survival with their endless discovery of new species of plants and animals..
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book!!! It was difficult to put down therefore this was a "nothing else got done" kinda book. It was wonderful to read about how God came first, as it should be, and how getting back to the basics brings family blessings unmeasurable.
    • 2/5
      Perhaps their lives would have been even better if they spent less time praying and thanking god. This aspect of the book became very annoying very quickly. The least favorite (for me) of the Robinson-type marooned-on-an-island type books (Defoe, Verne, Etc).
    • 3/5
      The Robinson Family, are shipwrecked on a tropical island for over 10 years. They survive because the father knows NEARLY everything related to science, botany, animal husbandry, farming, carpentry, parenting, marriage, and more, and because they managed to salvage most of the useful items from the ship, i.e. lanterns, silverware, dishes, tools, wood, barrels, books, as well as the animals on board.They explore the island, find plenty of plants and trees that can be used, and begin building a number of homesteads as well as defense barriers. They hunt to eat, but also capture native animals to tame and use for heavier work. They plant and harvest, repair and improve, and beautify until the island truly is New Switzerland. Because this was written in the early 1800's specifically for BOYS, the tone is old-fashioned and sexist; the book is filled with moral lessons on co-operating, independence, responsibility, respect for elders, physical prowess belief in G-d, and knowledge of the environment. Surprisingly not boring; the Robinsons navigate from one adventure to the next, celebrate their successes, and love and care for each other.
    • 3/5
      The Swiss Family Robinson is about a family that shipwrecks on an Edenlike island. Thier shipwreck and the rest of the crew takes the boats and leave. This book is very interesting, but it gets boring after a while.
    • 3/5
      Loved it as a kid. As a grown up reading it TO my kids, it was a little tedious in places. And I got a kick out of how many different species of animal exists on their little island.Most amusing.
    • 5/5
      This book is about the Robinson family getting stuck on a abanden ship. In the begining of the book the family is on a ship headed to sweden but end up in a bad srorm and crash in to a big rock. The crew abanen them and the father said the ship wont sink fast and they would sleep tell tomarow. In the middle of the book they find saliler also ship reced on the same island as them. At the end of the book the get saved but only the two sons and the sailer who is actuly a girl leave the island why'll their mom, dad, and yunger brother stayes.
    • 4/5
      I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did- I thought I'd be bored with it and put off by the fact that an impossible variety of animals and other inaccuracies were coupled with the know-it-all tales of the father. I ended up being fascinated by everything they did. All their adventures, all their creations, everything that made living in the wilderness a civilized and abundant life for them. The ending had some interesting implications- if they indeed started a colony, they wouldn't have the same abundance, but at the same time, they'd have friendship and a future.
    • 2/5
      So. A family gets shipwrecked on an island. They happily build some houses, plant food-bearing plants, tame some local animals, and kill one of everything else they see to put in their "museum". The head of the household is a pious man, who luckily seems to know everything about every animal/plant/indigenous custom that ever existed. This father is the narrator of the story. It seems that at every turn there is an opportunity for him to impart some specialised knowledge and moral lesson for his sons. I found him to be stuffy and arrogant, but that was the time I suppose. The only thing saving this story for me was that it was originally a bedtime story told to the authors sons. In that context I can see the fast moving events working, but in the novel form it is repetitive and borderline meaningless
    • 2/5
      This is considered a classic, and I liked a lot action and the inventions the family created when they were stranded on the island, but I was not able to keep my disbelief suspended. For example, the father knew every species they came across. I don't believe that anyone in 1800, no matter how well-read he was, would react to every species (both plant and animal) with a spurt of perfect knowledge of that species. Fun book, for the most part.
    • 3/5
      A little dated, but always a classic.
    • 2/5
      I was genuinely surprised at how much I disliked this book. The father was ridiculously knowledgeable and moralistic. Yuck!
    • 3/5
      I read this aloud to my children and they enjoyed it once the action got going. I think they were a bit credulous at the way the survivors managed so well on the island, yet it was fun to read anyway. Besides, that was one of their favorite places at Disney Land, though I think it has been changed now to something more modern. Loved the discussion in the book of the things seaweed is good for and its various properties.