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The Swiss Family Robinson facts for kids

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SwissFamilyRobinson
The Swiss Family Robinson, 1867 Illustration

The Swiss Family Robinson (German: Der Schweizerische Robinson) is a famous novel written by Johann David Wyss. It was first published in 1812. The story is about a Swiss family who get shipwrecked on an island in the East Indies (a group of islands in Southeast Asia). They were on their way to Port Jackson, Australia, when their ship was lost.

About the Book

The book was written by a Swiss pastor named Johann David Wyss. His son, Johann Rudolf Wyss, helped to edit it. Another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, created the pictures for the book.

Johann David Wyss wrote this story to teach his four sons important lessons. He wanted them to learn about family values, how to take care of animals and land, how to use things from nature, and how to be self-reliant. This means being able to take care of yourself without needing help from others.

The story teaches many good lessons, like being careful with what you have, working hard, accepting things, and working together. The family in the book includes the parents and their four sons: Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz. The father is the main character and tells the story.

The adventures in the book are like lessons in nature and physical sciences. It's similar to other educational books for children from that time. However, The Swiss Family Robinson is special because it's based on Robinson Crusoe, which is a real adventure story. One fun fact is that the island in the book has many large mammals that probably couldn't all live together on one island in real life!

Over the years, many different versions of the story have been made. Some versions add new parts, change things, or remove parts. A well-known English version was made by William H. G. Kingston in 1879.

Even though movies and TV shows often call the family "Robinson," it's not a Swiss name. The "Robinson" in the title refers to Robinson Crusoe. The German title means the Swiss Robinson. This shows that the book belongs to a type of story called a Robinsonade. These are stories about people who are stranded on an island, like Robinson Crusoe.

Other Versions of the Story

The story of The Swiss Family Robinson has been made into many different forms. Sometimes the location or time period of the story is changed.

Book Sequels

  • Willis the pilot (1858): This book continues the story. Some people think Johann David Wyss wrote it, while others think it was Johanna Spyri, who wrote Heidi.
  • Second Fatherland (1900): Written by Jules Verne, this book starts where Wyss's story ended.
  • Return to Robinson Island (2015): This book by TJ Hoisington is based on the original 1812 novel.

Film Versions

  • Swiss Family Robinson (1940)
  • Swiss Cheese Family Robinson (a Mighty Mouse cartoon episode, 1947)
  • Swiss Family Robinson (1960 Walt Disney film)
  • The Swiss Family Robinson (1976)
  • The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998)

Television Series

Made-for-TV Movies

  • The Swiss Family Robinson (1958)
  • The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
  • The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
  • The Swiss Family Robinson (1975)
  • Beverly Hills Family Robinson (1998)
  • The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998): This movie starred Jane Seymour.
  • Stranded (2002)

Other Adaptations

  • Comic book series: Space Family Robinson (1962 to 1984) was a science fiction comic.
  • Stage play: A play called Swiss Family Robinson was performed in California in 2009.
  • Computer game: A computer game called Swiss Family Robinson was made in 1984 for early computers like the Apple II. You played as Fritz, the oldest brother.
  • Parody: The New Swiss Family Robinson by Owen Wister (1882) made fun of the original story.

Related Pages

Images for kids

  • New Switzerland

    The Map of "New Switzerland."

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: El Robinson suizo para niños

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