Customer Reviews

Abel's Island

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this to my Grade 4 students at the beginning of every school year, and they are totally entranced by it. Even though Abel is a newly married adult mouse, it is a very much a story geared to the growing independence of 8 to 10 year olds. Stranded on an island for a year, the snobby, cultured Abel, who dearly loves champagne and caviar, must learn to eat wild foods and fend for himself.

William Steig's books are always surprisingly complex once you delve a little beneath the surface. Abel discovers a new part of his true mouse self, a base, wild creature who survives on seeds and nuts and can gnaw his way through wood. But he also develops his artistic talents as a sculptor and thus needn't depend on Mommy's wealth any more when he finally returns to society. There is delightful interplay here between seemingly contradicting messages: Must one learn to accept one's true nature? Or must we go through trials and challenges to develop our "civilized" talents?

An aspect of Steig's writing that never fails to captivate children is that he doesn't write "down" to them. He challenges them to new levels of sophistication, and children respond wholeheartedly to this. He uses lots of very big, fancy words, which never slow the story down or make it too difficult, but intrigue children more and more about language.

A great "while reading" strategy is to make a chart to record the problem, the solutions tried, and the results. The main problem is that Abel is stranded on an island. He tries many, many solutions, and they all fail until the very last one. Having this on a chart makes clear to kids that one must often try over and over until one succeeds, but NEVER GIVE UP TRYING! And, maybe even enjoy the meantime!

I would highly recommend this as a book to read and discuss with children, however, it makes a wonderful book to read independently as it is short and has great pictures.

It started out as a slow book but it got better.
Abel's island was a good book. Abel's Island is about a small mouse who gets stranded on an island while trying to save a scarf for his new wife in a hurricane, and the wind drags him to a piece of wood that has a rusted nail sticking out of it. Then the piece of wood drags him off to a river that has a waterfall at the end of it. He falls down the waterfall and gets so tired that he just falls asleep, then when he wakes up Abel finds himself on a mysterious island (1,200 tails long). He finds himself stuck in a tree and he is so hungry that he takes a leaf and starts chewing on it "Mmm cherry branch", Abel says.
He thinks of a way to use the piece of wood as a fort that he can stay in. Then he thinks that he could turn it upside down and push it down about a tail and sleep under it. But soon he finds out that it will easily fall away so he walks around the island and finds an old rotten log that he can sleep in. So he gathers a bunch of seeds that he can eat and plants like grapes he can squeeze the juice out of and drink it. He finds a little hole that he can put the seeds in and finds another room he can put shutters and the milkweed in. He fixes up the milkweed and he makes a bed.
And so begins Abel's adventure on the island.
William Steig made a great book it shows that evn if you're lost dont try to give up hope.
I had to read this in Mrs.vacciano's book club in the fifth grade and i'm glad she's my teacher this year!!!!!

I am an adult, but I love well written children's books. They can pack mystery, adventure, and other genre, but are quicker reads. Abel's Island is an outstanding example of the perfect children's book for adults. Newly married and stylish, Abel gets swept away in a rain storm when he attempts to retrieve his bride's lovely scarf. After nearly drowning, and soaked to the bone, Abel finds himself on a remote island and can't find a way off. Many months go by while Abel attempts unending schemes to gain the mainland. His discoveries about himself are much in the same vein as Robinson Crusoe and Hatchet. He learns to fend for himself in a vast wilderness, yet never gives in to the possibility of never returning to his loved one. She is his vision that keeps him focused on his only goal. She is his Mecca. A delicate adventure and love story for anyone over eight years of age..

Hi I'm Courtney.I read this book in my fourth grade class. I highly recommend this book because it has great word choice, organization, voice and thoose are William Steig's best six traits in this particular book.It felt like it was coming out and grabbing my heart.At the begining your scared because Abel gets lost.In the middle Abel has a sieres of events and adventures. He might even meet some friends. Some parts I feel that William Steig was making you feel so emotional and that he himself William Steig was coming out and taking your heart then putting it in the book. Well those were my feelings and emotions about Abel's Island.

Abel's Island By William Steig This book should be known as one of the most fascinating books in the US. William Steig has a very big vocabulary and definitely proves it in this novel. The introduction of this book caught my attention as soon as I picked it up. It started out when he and his beautiful wife were out on a luxurious picnic. Then all of a sudden, a massive storm rolls in and wipes away their picnic. They run as fast as they can to anything that they can use as shelter. They see a cave up on a hill and see some on trying to signal them to come in. They finally get there and are safe. All of a sudden, this book takes a dramatic turn. His wife's scarf falls off and Abel runs after it. He falls and before he knows it, he is in a river flowing with much debris around him from trees and so forth. As he hits the bottom, he gets knocked unconscious. When he awakes, he is on an island in the middle of nowhere. He lives on this island for about a year and a half, trying to find anything that could be of use. When he finds out that there have been people there before, he goes nuts and starts reading this book that was left behind. When a frog arrives on the island he and Abel fall into a deep relationship. When it is time for the frog to leave and find his family, Abel asks him if he can contact his wife and get help. The frog does just that and comes back with help. Abel finally gets off the island and finds his wife. When he walks through the door, he sees what he's been dreaming of for all of that time. It was like falling in love all over again.

I think the best Part in this very interesting book is when he was on the island and is stranded until he gets rescued. Over all this book is one of the best I've read.

I would recommend this book to almost anyone that likes adventure books and are fascinated by animals. I would say the reading level should be about 4-7 grade.

Abel's Island by William Steig is truly one of the best children's books that has been produced. Any person, young or old, can learn from this beautiful little novel and be moved by it.

It is the story of Abel, a mouse who one day is separated from his wife by a terrible storm. Abel had been a rich, secure mouse in his former life. But in his new life, alone on an island, he learns to challenge himself. His experiences give him great insights into his true being. He also learns to appreciate that he really had in his former life, especially the love of his wife.

The plot is very simple to the novel. Abel has to survive and try to get back to his wife. It is very Robinson Crusoesque. But the novel is told with such warmth and humor that the reader is totally enraptured by this tale. The prose is so beautiful, the character's so endearing, and the insights are so great that no one who reads it will ever forget it. I just finished carrying it around for a couple of days on a college campus while I was rereading it, and it was seen and remembered by so many of my fellow students who cherished as students. Any child should read this as should any adult.

Abel's Island, written and illustrated by William Steig, is a novel for ages 8-12. It tells a story of a young and recently married mouse, named Abel, who has become trapped on a deserted island. It happend when he and his wife, Amanda, go on a picnic in the woods. Abel goes off for a walk and finds a dandylion. When he walks back to give the flower to Amanda, a storm starts. The two of them scramble for cover when they are blown into a boulder. Some other critters call down from a cave and tell them to come into the cave for safty. When they get up into the cave, they see a lot of familiar faces. Then, while everyone is watching the storm, Amanda's scarf goes flying! Abel jumps out and catches the scarf, but while he is trying to fight the storm, he gets blown back. When the storm dies down, he wakes up to find himself on an island. One day, while he on the island, a frog walks up onto the shore. He thinks that he was stranded there for life. I think that there are many amazing parts of this book. For example: when Abel has to fight the owl, or when he manages to escape from the cat. I truly recommend this book to anyone who really likes to read.

Fourth Grade Student of Fallsmead Elem. School

A resourceful mouse from a well-to-do mouse family shows that even the pampered can muster up some chutzpah when they have to.

The writing about nature and the seasons reminded me of E.B. White. I loved it when Abel was holed up in his log during the long, snowy winter and loved the gruff frog named Gower, with his primal trances.

My boys, ages 7 and 9, liked the book too. William Steig makes good use of the great wealth that is English. To me, he's right up there with White and Arnold Lobel and Doris Burn (who wrote The Summerfolk).

Each evening, I read a chapter of a chapter book to my daughter. During last year's rainy season, we enjoyed the adventures of Abel the gentleman mouse and how he survived on an island after being washed away by a sudden rain storm. It is wonderfully slow-paced and full of trials and thoughts on life. Thank you William Steig for weaving such a tale for us. :)

Great for children and adults alike, this story draws you in and makes you keep turning the pages. In the story a mouse named Abel is living a life of leisure with his wife Amanda. He is a wealthy high society fellow who does not work but lives comfortably with money provided by his wealthy mother, drinking champagne and eating caviar. During a picnic, Abel is swept into the river only to be beached on a deserted island. He sits down to await his rescue that never comes. He wants his old life badly with his comfortable bed, snug house, books, and clean clothes.

But he is stranded now and must learn to survive. As a spoiled rich mouse, he does not know how to fend for himself, yet he has become a Robinson Crusoe of sorts. As his old leisurely self disappears, Abel teaches himself create fire, to find and store food such as mushrooms and seeds, build shelter, and to make pottery to eat with. He fights off an owl determined to eat him, and never stops trying to find a way off the island. He is an intelligent, inventive fellow, and builds rafts, tries to swim the strong rive current, builds a bridge, uses stepping stones, rope, a catapult, and even a glider, all with disastrous results. He has to make use of his extra time on his hands and he finally learns he has an artistic side which brings him to sculpt life size images of his friends and loved ones. His perseverance is incredible against all odds and fears and he never gives up trying.

The author never uses "kid talk" in his books, but uses intelligent vocabulary in a way that does not put off kids, but increases their interest. Honestly no kid that begins reading this story can put it down, and any adult is captivated by the language the author uses to tell his tale. Abel's life strength lies in his never ending love for his wife. And we as the reader are helped to realize how lucky we are to be home with the ones that love us. Truly a gem.

After you read the story, if you want a bit more of Abel's world you see him on a VHS tape by the same name. It is available from the childrens department at your local library, or you can buy it "used" here at Amazon like I did. It was worth it, as it was a quality production that is true to the story, and the art is very similar to Steig's gentle illustrations from the book.