The Swiss Family Robinson
The Swiss Family Robinson tells of the adventures of a family that is
shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. The story was made up more than
180 years ago by a real Swiss family. They imagined they were
shipwrecked, then thought of all the things they would have to do to
stay alive and make themselves comfortable.
The Wyss family knew that understanding how to use tools, how machines
work, and how things can be made would be most important. So, in the
story, the father keeps everyone safe and comfortable through his
knowledge of such simple machines as the lever, the wheel, the pulley,
and the screw.
For seven days, the ship on which the family is sailing is caught in a
terrible storm. Then it is blown onto the rocks near an island. The crew
abandons the ship, taking all the boats and leaving the family behind.
The storm comes to an end, but the ship is slowly breaking apart.
Determined to save his family, the father builds a boat that can carry
them all to the island. The story is told by the father.
