Swiss Family Robinson

By: Johann Wyss

Narrated by: Jack Sondericker

Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2007 Books In Motion (P)2007 Books In Motion

1812 Classic - served authors purposes

So this was my first read of Swiss Family Robinson and it sure wasn't like the movie. Per Wiki the author wrote it for his 4 sons as a means of educating them on morals, industry and to learn about the animals and plants of the world and their uses. A small way into the book I was confused and looked up where Swiss Family Robinson is set... it just didn't seem physically possible. This island has fir trees, palm trees, dates, mushrooms, sugar cane, bamboo, potatoes, sea weed and their fruit trees starts grew well. There is a desert, swamp, mountain top, cove, jungle, plain, sea shore... I was waiting for the volcano. Buffalo, apes, lions, tigers, bears, whales, sharks, wolves, cyotes, penquins, seals, walrus, shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, boa constrictors, pelicans, flamingos, rabbits, deer... for the convenience of writing about many... it was set in an imaginary part of the world where all plants and animals florish. The pattern of the book is they discover an animal or plant and dad tells them all about it... much like the first paragraph of wiki... then they kill it, eat it, use its parts for construction of home or make a pet of the babies. The four sons in the book learn the basic steps of doing things like animal husbandry, wine making, building a canoe, how to get sugar from a cane... I almost thought Wyss would never run out of new animals and situations to discuss with the sons. I read it immediately after reading Robinson Crusoe and found them not a bit alike. As an older adult reader, I loved the mental ramblings and creativity (much more accurately protrayed) of Crusoe. Young readers I am sure would like the non-stop adventures as the boys encounter new things and are encouraged in their adventures by their father. I was more than ready for it to end, but also glad to have read it. Good narrator.

An enjoyable classic well performed.

Very enjoyable performance, excellent voice work and a nice steady, peaceful cadence, but not boring. I enjoyed the story even though it was quite different from the Disney movie adaptation. Delightful, relaxing and comforting.

Unexpected pleasure

As a warning to all future listeners, this book is very different than what we’ve all seen in our beloved movie. This however, did not take away from the excitement of this story. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

fantastic story with good moral for whole family

accomplishments of a family living in unity under the watchful care of loving and wise parents.

truly complete!

Loved it! This is truly the complete unabridged version of my childhood favorite! I'm delighted!

great classic

I grow up watching the movie, the book is so much better. be warned though this is not for the PC crowd, they actually have to hunt and kill animals for food and the "mother" is actually proud to be a wife and a mother which in some circles today is considered sexist and misogynist. the narrator is great and really in bodies the father from the movie. as with most books the storyline is quite a bit different than the movie but still good.

Very well presented!!!

This has been one of our families FAVORITE audio books! Everyone from the 4 year old up to the 40 year old loved it!

One of my favorites.

Classic book. Not bad, but you can hear the pages turning and the reader breathing.

Some classics should be abandoned

This fictional tale of a family living on an island with every animal from penguins to jackals to porcupines to coconut throwing monkeys is told by an insipid father with the paternalistic vision of a conquistador. Within the first few chapters of this story they have gratuitously murdered most every animal they have encountered , insulted “savages” and women, and exemplified brutal and unquestioning white male domination . It was a sickening account and should be lost to the history except as a reflection of how primitive and cruel early settlers treated the land and lives they encountered.

Should be renamed Fantasy Island

Started out good but this magical island has every animal in the world living on it.

A good story

A rather dated story, but I read it as a child and wanted to hear it again. It’s really well narrated and was much enjoyed.

A great read

Well read, a wonderful classic book. Glad I chose this version as narrators voice totally suited to story.

wow... what a tale

a lot of amazing instruction bound up in a book... it is truly marvellous

Fascinating

Having only seen the film previously I looked forward to the book. The film, I now see, is only based upon the characters in the book.
The original is fuller, more enlightening altogether. It is if it’s time.