Adventure · Family
The Swiss Family Robinson
A shipwrecked family turns a deserted tropical island into a home, complete with a house in a giant tree.
Five levels, about 80 languages
- A2ElementaryShort sentences and everyday words.
- B1IntermediateYou follow clear stories about familiar things.
- B2Upper intermediateLonger sentences, richer vocabulary.
- C1AdvancedClose to the original, lightly condensed.
- C2ProficientThe complete novel.
One purchase is one book, in one language, at one level: $4.99. Another level of a book you own is $1.99. Editions nobody has asked for yet are written on request: chapter 1 in a few minutes, the rest while you read. How the levels work.
About the book
A family, a wreck and a giant tree
A storm wrecks a ship carrying a Swiss family: a father, who tells the story, a mother, and four sons, Fritz, Ernest, Jack and little Francis. The crew has abandoned them, but the ship is full of supplies, tools and animals. In a homemade boat built from tubs, they bring ashore everything they can, then set about turning a deserted coast into a home, with a house high in a giant tree, gardens, a farm and a growing collection of tamed animals. Johann David Wyss wrote the story for his own sons; his son Johann Rudolf edited it and published it in German in 1812.
Why it works for learners
This is a book about daily life, and that is exactly the vocabulary learners need: food, cooking, tools, clothes, animals, plants, weather, family. Each chapter sets a practical task (crossing a stream, building a ladder, making candles) and solves it in clear steps, often with the father explaining things to his sons. Those explanations are patient, almost as if written for a learner. The four boys are easy to tell apart, and their small rivalries keep the family scenes lively. Part of the charm is the island’s impossible natural history: animals and plants from every continent seem to live there together.
Which level to start at
A2 is a comfortable start; the story is gentle and its everyday language suits the level. B1 keeps more of the father’s lessons and the boys’ adventures. Learners of German can read a Swiss classic in German. The original is long and digressive, so C1 and C2 are for readers who love its patient detail.
Read next
- Robinson Crusoe, the book that gave this one its title
- The Mysterious Island, survival by science
- Heidi, another Swiss classic about making a home