The Swiss Family Robinson

Recommended by Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; C.Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences; Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the MCZ (and her son Henry Mallet)

This novel tells a tale of the exciting adventure of a Swiss family (parents and four sons), who, en route to Australia, are shipwrecked by a storm in the East Indies. This is a classic story of survival — replete with action and suspense — in which a family works together to start a new life in a land with strange food, exotic creatures, and a beautiful landscape. My only quibble (as a biologist) is that the collection of animals on the island — from flamingos to kangaroos and buffalo — don’t occur in the East Indies nor together anywhere on the globe. Nonetheless, values of optimism, perseverance, and teamwork are highlighted throughout.