The Swiss Family Robinson

I have plenty of time to read here, which is one of the reasons that I picked up The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Swys  at the used book store (this edition is almost 500 pages).  A teacher who used to work at the same school as me read an abridged version to his class each year, then showed the Disney version of the movie.  The story is about a family from Switzerland who is shipwrecked and needs to survive on an uninhabited island.  The family includes both a mother, a father and their four sons.

     This book made me think about how dependent I am on others for both my needs and wants.  I can cook, clean, and sew.  But I would not be able to build a decent shelter, cook over a fire, or know how to make something from nature into clothing.  For all our advantages there are to our modern civilization, it seems like  we are less knowledgable about skills that make it possible to take care of ourselves.

     If I taught older elementary or middle school students, I would consider reading it aloud to my class.