Swiss Family Robinson

I chose to read "The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann Wyss. I really enjoyed the story because of the characters in the book, and the adventure that they lived. In this book, my favorite person is the father. He never lost hope in himself or his family and he always found new ways of making his family as comfortable they could be. He was a strong leader, and did everything he could to take care of them and make the best of a really tough situation. My grandpa is a lot like this character. He is resourceful, supportive of others, and has a good head on his shoulders. He is creative, and can come up with solutions to problems to help his family.

The story "The Swiss Family Robinson" started out with the family on a ship during a harsh storm. After weeks of being thrown around relentlessly, the crew took off on all the life rafts, and they left the family abandoned. However, the sailors that left all drowned because the waters were still far too rough. After a few more days of waiting on the ship, the storm let up and they realized the ship was stuck between two rocks. They saw shore not too far away. They made it to shore and lived their first few weeks in a tent. They survived by eating fish they caught and they made a refuge in a tree with a hollowed out center in the trunk. Next, the family hammered their way into a cave, and they live there during the rainy season. During this time, the father was the one person that kept them going. He pushed them to keep working, but at the same time, he made it seem like an adventure. He kept the family together, and they formed a really close bond.

In many ways the father in the book is like my grandpa. Through times of hardship with 4 kids he kept them going. He didn't focus on fancy things but he was resourceful and he made most of the things in the house that they lived in. One example

of something that he made on his own to help his family was dressers. When the kids in his family needed something to put clothes in, but they couldn't afford new furniture, my grandpa made four dressers all on his own. He also made a whole four season porch all on his out with out help from anyone outside the family. But he had his kids help him, so they learned the skills also. This is a lot like what the father in the Swiss Family Robinson does when he makes the tree house and designs all the floors and cabins for the kids. Another thing that my grandpa did for my dad was