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Swiss Family Robinson Youth Adventure Story Activity Coloring Pages
Swiss Family Robinson - A story by Johann Wyss
Swiss Family Robinson coloring pages depict various scenes in the story. Each page contains captions for that specific
scene. These pages are great visual aids as you read a "longer text" version of this favorite pirate adventure story.
Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values,
good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance.
Over the years there have been many versions of the story with episodes added, changed, or deleted. Perhaps the best-known
English version is by William H. G. Kingston, first published in 1879.
Swiss Family Robinson is considered a classic youth adventure / action tale known for its atmosphere, characters and action.
The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ships' passengers evacuate without them,
and William and Elizabeth Robinson and their four children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Francis) are left to survive alone.
As the ship tosses about, the father - William - prays that God will spare them.
The ship survives the night and the family finds themselves within sight of a tropical desert island. The next morning,
they decide to get to the island they can see beyond the reef. With much effort, they construct a vessel out of tubs.
After they fill the tubs with food and ammunition and all other articles of value they can safely carry, they row toward the island.
Two dogs from the ship named Turk and Flora swim beside them. The ship's cargo of livestock (including chickens, domestic ducks,
domestic geese, and domestic pigeons), guns & powder, carpentry tools, books, a disassembled pinnace, and provisions have survived.
Upon reaching the island, the family set up a makeshift camp. The father knows that they must prepare for a long time on the island
and his thoughts are as much on provisions for the future as for their immediate wants. William and his oldest son Fritz spend the next
day exploring the island.
The family spends the next few days securing themselves against hunger. William and Fritz make several trips to the ship in their efforts
to bring ashore everything useful from the vessel. The domesticated animals on the ship are towed back to the island.
There is also a great store of firearms and ammunition, hammocks for sleeping, carpenter’s tools, lumber, cooking utensils,
silverware, and dishes. Initially they construct a treehouse, but as time passes (and after Elizabeth is injured climbing the stairs
down from it), they settle in a more permanent dwelling in part of a cave. Fritz rescues a young Englishwoman (Jenny Montrose)
shipwrecked elsewhere on their island.
The book covers more than ten years. The father and older boys explore various environments and develop homes and gardens in various sites about the island.
At the end, the father wonders if they will ever again see the rest of humanity. Eventually a British ship who is in search of Jenny Montrose
anchors near Robinson's island and is discovered by the family. The captain is given the journal containing the story of their life on the
island which is eventually published. Several members of the Robinson family choose to continue to live tranquilly on their island while
several of them return to Europe with the British ship.
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