Abel's Island

by William Steig

Book Overview

William's Steig's Abel's Island tells the story of a mouse who gets swept away from his beloved wife--a truly timeless classic about life's simple pleasures.

Abel's place in his familiar, mouse world has always been secure; he had an allowance from his mother, a comfortable home, and a lovely wife, Amanda. But one stormy August day, furious flood water carry him off and dump him on an uninhabited island. Despite...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374300100
• ISBN13: 9780374300104
• Release Date: May 1976
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Abel’s Island

Mouse chasing down wife’s shawl that got blown in the wind. A freak strong wind blows him into a raging river that sends to a deserted island. Repeated attempts to swim back to civilization proves hopeless until a final attempt a year later proves successful

Abel's Island arrived but not in "very good" condition as promised

I remembered this book as being one to treasure for young readers. The "very good" copy I received was so badly stained that I just threw it out.

A great book!!!!!!

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!!!!!

A deceptively simple, very sophisticated book

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.

Refreshingly simple and easy paced.

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..

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.

Read It

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.