Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe [Hardcover]

Robert Kraske (Author), Robert Andrew Parker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

In 1704, Alexander Selkirk was voyaging across the South Pacific when, after arguing with the ship’s captain, he was put ashore— alone—on an uninhabited island. Equipped with little more than a musket and his wits, Selkirk not only survived in complete solitude for more than four years, but to came to be quite comfortable and happy. After being rescued by a British privateer in 1709, he took a leading role in several dramatic captures of merchant ships. Although he returned to civilization a rich man, he couldn’t find a place in society and always longed to return to the paradise of his island.

Selkirk’s well-documented adventures so inspired Daniel Defoe that they became the basis for his perennial classic, Robinson Crusoe. In an account that is every bit as fascinating as Defoe’s novel, Robert Kraske provides vivid descriptions of Selkirk’s days on the island and aboard ship, including details of the violent, bloody, and legally sanctioned pirating that went on in the early 18th century. Author’s note, glossary, bibliography, index.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–In a chronological account of the life of a privateer, two of eight chapters describe Selkirk's solitary, four-year survival on Juan Fernandez, an island 360 miles west of Chile. The book also includes the sailor's rescue and his return to Scotland. The final chapter discusses Daniel Defoe's attempt to use the man's records to create a literary work (Robinson Crusoe) that would pay his mounting debts. Pencil-drawn maps clearly show the locations of Selkirk's voyages. Reference to his temper stops in chapter one, after which he becomes a Bible-reading naturalist, wise navigator, and solitary individual longing for his island home. The book leaves out the historical possibilities that he committed himself in marriage to two women, struggled with alcoholism, and left again for sea after nearly killing a man in a fight. This compelling, if not entirely factual, book features a character about whom little has been written for children. Its greatest merit lies in the chapters that explain privateering and the war between England and Spain.–Julie R. Ranelli, Episcopal Center for Children, Washington, DC
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. This attractive little book offers the true survival story of the man who inspired Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. In 1704, English sailing master Alexander Selkirk was marooned on Juan Fernandez, an isolated Pacific island. There he hunted seals, fashioned primitive tools, made clothes from goatskins, read his Bible, and made peace with his lot. In 1709, two English ships rescued him, hired him as a second mate, and later captured a Spanish treasure ship. Selkirk returned to London a wealthy man, though he never regained the peace of mind he had found on his island. Kraske offers a well-focused look at life in several quite different settings during the early eighteenth century as well as an absorbing telling of Selkirk's story. Parker contributes a full-page illustration at the beginning of each chapter and a small decorative drawing that reappears throughout the account. The book ends with a glossary, a bibliography, and an informative note concerning Juan Fernandez Island today and Kraske's research. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (October 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618568433
• ISBN-13: 978-0618568437
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #609,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads with all the drama of fiction, June 12, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe (Hardcover)

Scottish mariner Alexander Selkirk is marooned on a South Pacific island - and becomes the model for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe. In his real life he survived completely alone for over four years, and engaged in daring sea exploits upon his rescue - including the capture of a Spanish treasure ship. His experiences come to life in a title which reads with all the drama of fiction, embellished with colorful detail in Marooned: The Strange But True Adventures Of Alexander Selkirk, The Real Robinson Crusoe.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quick but compelling read, October 14, 2009

By 

Experienced Editor (Illinois, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe (Hardcover)

As Alexander Selkirk watched his ship sailing away, leaving him alone on a small, isolated south Pacific island, he thought the captain was bluffing. After all, Alexander was the sailing master, a skilled navigator able to pilot the crudely charted seas in 1703. Without him, the ship would be unable to find her way back to England--wouldn't she? Even though he had challenged the captain's authority and refused to sail on until repairs were made to the travel-worn ship, he was sure the captain would have to return for his navigator.
Days stretched into weeks, and Alexander realized that he had indeed been abandoned. Over the next four years and four months, he survived by his wits: building shelter, crafting rude tools, and adapting to his wild, solitary life on Juan Fernandez Island.
To research this book, author Kraske consulted accounts written by men who had known Selkirk, including the English privateer Woodes Rogers, whose ship rescued Selkirk from the island. Together, Rogers and Selkirk sailed eastward, returning to England two years later by way of Indonesia and south Africa.
Rogers's account was also read by another Englishman, Daniel Defoe, who was inspired to create his own castaway, Robinson Crusoe.
Marooned is a quick but compelling read. Its 120 pages are chock-full of vivid details about Selkirk's exploits, from solitude and survival to piracy and privateering in the early 1700s. The account is recommended for adventure-craving readers in upper elementary and junior high.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thin Book, Large Type, May 4, 2009

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G. Gaither (Harlingen, tx United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marooned: The Strange but True Adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the Real Robinson Crusoe (Hardcover)

Though the story was intriguing, the book itself was thin and the typeface about 12 points, which made for a very fast read. Maybe two hours. I like my books to take a few days with a lot of depth and character development which this one was lacking. This book seemed geared towards middle school aged readers.