The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Defoe, Daniel. Adapted by Malvina G. Vogel. The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. New York: Baronet Books, 1996.

I enjoyed reading The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a classic novel adapted by Malvina G. Vogel. It was a short novel with large print, so it was easy to read. The story was about Robinson Crusoe, born in 1632 in England, a European country. Crusoe boarded his first ship in 1651. He first sailed to Brazil, where he developed a successful tobacco planting business. Crusoe set sail again, this time for Guinea in 1659, to buy slaves. Crusoe’s ship met with two major storms, the second of which was so bad that his ship broke and he fainted. Fortunately, the waves washed him to shore. The next morning, he woke up and looked around. He saw the half-submerged ship and swam back to get supplies: food, water, and clothes. Crusoe built a shelter for himself in a cave and survived all alone for 24 long years. Anyone who likes action-packed novels should give this book a try.  – Gurvir, grade 6 

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Emil and the Detectives

Kastner, Erich. Emil and the Detectives. New York: Overlook Press, 2014, 2007.

What a rollicking adventure! This classic novel from Germany – first published in 1929 and now translated into over 50 languages  – tells the story of Emil’s adventures while travelling to Berlin to visit his grandmother. Emil falls asleep on the train and when he wakes up, he discovers all his money has been stolen. Emil is not one to give up. He enlists the help of other boys and catches the thief, much to everyone’s delight. This new translation by W. Martin uses colloquialisms familiar to modern readers and includes an introduction by Maurice Sendak as well as the original line drawings by Walter Trier.

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