I just finished reading this to my 9th graders. What a journey! We used the edition illustrated by N.C. Wyeth.
Everyone should read Robinson Crusoe. It's a wonderful tale of man's character and of how we should thank God for our trials and embrace them.
The story gets repetitious and tedious at times, but it's a good study in how tedious and droll it must have been living on an island all alone.
My 9th grade boys (3 of them) have a wonderful sense of humor and laughed a lot at some of the old English phrases. I didn't discourage that because that meant they were listening. While they listened to me read they worked on cross-stitching. That kept their hands busy without distracting their minds. I also reminded them when they tired of the cross-stitch of how "boring" it must have been for people who sewed clothes by hand in the 1600's and 1700's. Plus, Robinson Crusoe himself had to sew his own clothes together, and the boys could identify with that. Cross-stitch is also a lesson to them about how much work it takes to create something beautiful. In an instant-microwave-drive-thru world, this is an important lesson, and it paralells the same lessons in Robinson Crusoe beautifully.
Why read aloud to 9th grade boys? Because for these particular boys, reading a book of this length would be daunting and it would take a tremendous amount of their time to get it done. They are required to read, of course, but Robinson Crusoe would have taken them much longer to read than reading it aloud. When I read aloud, they get more literature inside of themselves than just having them read to themselves. That way, they have the books I read to them everyday, as well as the books they read on their own, and we get through a lot more books. Also, I know that they have actually "read" the book because I stop and ask questions and we talk about different aspects of the book, have some laughs, and discuss worldviews, spiritual truths and more.
For instance, we talked about how a book of this sort would not be published today because of the politically incorrect descriptions of natives and other people of color in the book. Slavery is another aspect we talked about at length, as well as other non-politically-correct features of a book written in the early 1700's. It is a fascinating peek into the minds and culture of that time.
We are studying American History this year and we were in the middle of our study on the early explorers while we read this book. What a great fit!
After we read the book, we watched the 1954 movie of Robinson Crusoe. It was fun seeing what the movie included that was actually in the book and what wasn't. The acting in the movie is very stylized so the kids got a kick out of that and we had a lot of laughs.
I read the book to 9th graders, but I think children as young as six or seven would enjoy it. It really just depends on the child and the person reading the book. I love reading out loud so it was just plain fun. I looked forward every day to reading it and finding out what was going to happen next.
I also think this would be a great book to read and do nature studies with. It would be fun to reinact what Robinson Crusoe is going through out in the woods or even in the backyard.
This book can be trusted completely to encourage your children in godly character. Robinson Crusoe goes through a beautiful spiritual transformation in the book, and he even leads Friday, a native he rescues from cannibals, to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The book is a great lesson in forming good habits, in the importance of hard work, even when you have no one but yourself to be accountable to, and diligence, forbearance, longsuffering, and joy in the midst of trials.
This is a great book for boys. I think every American boy should read it or have it read to them. It should be a part of growing up for all boys! I loved the book, and so did the boys I read it to.
If you have any questions about the book and need ideas on how to implement it, please ask! I would love to visit with you about including Robinson Crusoe in your home school!
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