Swiss Family Robinson

[winoelle]

I would like to get a really nice edition of this book, with good illustrations but am having a hard time finding one. Anyone know of one? Thanks!

 

Noelle

[blossom12]

I have a wonderful edition printed and bound in Germany with original pen and ink drawings (very few). Here is the link at Amzaon.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Robinson-Everymans-Library-Childrens-Classics/dp/1857159330/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253603730&sr=1-1

[atozmom]

Great Illustrated Classics and Stepping Stones Books both have pictures. Of course these would depend on the age of your children.

[winoelle]

Thanks, I am looking for an unabridged read aloud that can become a cherished part of our collection.

Noelle

[yvonne]

We liked the Illustrated Junior Library version. (Although there's a nasty review of it by the School Library Journal at Amazon.... ptooey to them...) All the Illustrated Junior Library classics have four or five very nicely done color pages, as well as numerous black & white drawings scattered throughout. Don't be put off by the "Junior" in the title.... I think they're mostly unabridged, despite what that review suggests, and they are 1000 times better than Great Ill'd Classics & other watered down series.

 

Swiss Family Robinson was originally published in German in the early 1800's, so you'll be getting an English translation. Opinions on which version (other than the original German one) is "unabridged" seem to vary. Wikipedia says that William Kingston's 1879 translation is perhaps the most well-known English version. The Ill'd Junior Library version is based on Kingston's.

 

Wikipedia also says, "The closest English translation to the original is William Godwin's 1816 translation, reprinted by Penguin Classics."

 

yvonne