Abel's Island
Written by William Steig
Narrated by George Guidall
4/5
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About this audiobook
William Steig
William Steig (1907-2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator and author of award-winning books for children, including Shrek!, on which the DreamWorks movies are based. Steig was born in New York City. Every member of his family was involved in the arts, and so it was no surprise when he decided to become an artist. He attended City College and the National Academy of Design. In 1930, Steig’s work began appearing in The New Yorker, where his drawings have been a popular fixture ever since. He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968. In 1970, Steig received the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. His books for children also include Dominic; The Real Thief; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award finalist; and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. Steig's books have also received the Christopher Award, the Irma Simonton Black Award, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, and the American Book Award. His European awards include the Premio di Letteratura per l'infanzia (Italy), the Silver Pencil Award (the Netherlands), and the Prix de la Fondation de France. On the basis of his entire body of work, Steig was selected as the 1982 U.S. candidate for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration and subsequently as the 1988 U.S. candidate for Writing. Steig also published thirteen collections of drawings for adults, beginning with About People in 1939, and including The Lonely Ones, Male/Female, The Agony in the Kindergarten, and Our Miserable Life. He died in Boston at the age of 95.
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Reviews for Abel's Island
178 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A gentle, contemplative retelling of Robinson Caruso with a mouse protagonist. Swept away by wind and flood from a happy outing with his wife, Able has to fend for himself when he cannot escape an island in a river and keep himself safe from an owl and the winter.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wonderfully illustrated graphic novel (!) of a kids book, showing Abel's adventures as a storm strands him on a desert island, far from the woman/mouse he loves.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a pleasant read with more depth than I expected. The character of Abel is well-written - he has flaws, but isn't reprehensible, he is spoiled, but teachable and he learns reacts to his predicament with courage, perseverance and intelligence. I recommend this book to young kids, in particular boys. It would make an excellent conversation starter about survival, tenacity, and what really matters.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Classic survival story about nature and transformation but instead of man vs nature its a little mouse!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a story of a "dandy" mouse who becomes stranded on an island after a flood. How he copes with his circumstances and grows into a thoughtful creature is entertaining. And the simple illustrations are...perfect.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gorgeously told fable about a proper, gentlemanly mouse named Abel who becomes stranded alone on an island. His love for his wife sustains him while he learns to fend for himself. Great fun.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A mouse gets stranded on an island for a year.Meh. I'm just not a fan of Steig's stuff, I suppose.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this to my girls at bedtime because one daughter was reading it for a novel study. Thoroughly enjoyed the adventure and it made an excellent "family" read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Abel's Island (Newbery Award & Honor Books) by William Steig is a Newberry Award book. This is a chapter book that is the story of a privledged mouse named Able. Able gets stranded on an Island. Able must learn to survive and fend for himself as well as build independence skills. Able learns to never give up.This is an enjoyable book that sparks the readers imagination. The words are vivid and the pictures descriptive. Young reader will learn some problem solving skills and the importance of never giving up.Story extenders could be setting up a survival/camping theme in the dramatic play area. If there are no allergies children could explore nuts and edible seeds. They can crack and eat them then graph their favorites. Seeds can be sorted and counted as well.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a story about a couple of mice who gets swept away in a rain flood while trying to catch his wife's scarf. Abel ends up on a deserted island and must learn how to survive on his own. Abel tried to build boats to get back across the river but fails. Eventually Abel makes friends with a frog and figures out how to across the river but only with the frogs help.As a classroom project we might use sticks or organic elements found outside on the playground that rain might collect to make possible rafts to get across the stream. We could also draw pictures on what the deserted island might look like. This book present multiple ways to incorporate all kinds of literary and artistic lessons.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I recently read this book to my 5 year-old daughter.Summary: Abel is carried away by a storm when he ventures from shelter in an attempt to retrieve his wife's scarf. The wind and water of the storm eventually leave him stranded on an island from which he must either escape quickly or learn to survive in wilds of nature. Review: The book is a wonderful example of WIlliam Steig's writing. The exciting parts were dramatic enough to keep my daughter on the edge of her seat, but not so much as to cause nightmares. There were also many funny parts that appealed to her as the child listener and I as the adult reader. I have read this book in the past, but had forgotten how serious and somber the tone became in a few places. My daughter didn't catch on to how touchingly desperate some parts were, proving how carefully the story is layered for different levels of understanding. For a children's book, Abel's Island is a surprisingly deep and meaningful story. Although we finished the book almost a week ago, I have seen my daughter pull the book down to look at the pictures several times - reliving the story again and again.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Joining the librarything 75 challenge group folk who are reading YA books in July, I'm looking forward to making a dent in the Newbery books I want to read.Abel's Island is a 1977 Newbery honor book that is deceptively simple. While bored with the beginning chapters, as the story progressed, I was captivated by the wonderful illustrations and descriptions of Abel, the sophisticated mouse who was stranded for a year on an island far away from his home.When on a summer picnic with his new bride Amanda, a sudden storm approaches. Finding shelter in a cave, Abel risks safety to rescue Amanda's wind blown scarf. Whisked away in turbulent currents, it is this prized possession that he clings to through the long year of loneliness.The pampered, sophisticated Abel humbly learns to fend for himself while facing many perils. Longing for Amanda and his creature comforts, Abel gradually accepts his fat,e while proudly growing in self sufficiency.While the winter winds whip, when the screeching owl stalks Abel as prey, and when the spring rains swell the river and hinder his escape, Abel survives valiantly and takes solace in the stars at night, in the beauty of the water and the glistening of the snow.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Newberry Honor. Read this in fourth grade and have been hooked on ready since. Story tells of a mouse lost and trying to get home again. A must read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of my all time favorites. A journey from a life of frivolity to a true understanding of the self. Deceptively simple, and rich with meaning.