Abel's Island

Description

Abel's place in his familiar mouse world has always been secure; he has an allowance from his mother, a comfortable home and a lovely wife, Amanda. But one stormy August day, furious flood waters carry him off and leave him on an uninhabited island. In spite of his determination and stubborn resourcefulness - he tries crossing the river with boats and ropes and even on stepping-stones - Abel can't find a way to get back home. Days, then weeks and months, pass. Slowly, his soft habits disappear as he forages for food, fashions a warm nest in a hollow log, models clay statues of his family for company, and continues to brood on the problem of how to get across the river - and home. Abel's Island was a New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year, an Outstanding Book of the Year, and a Newbery Honor Book.

William Steig (1907-2003) was an American cartoonist, sculptor and illustrator and writer of children's books. He was also the creator of Shrek!, which inspired the film series of the same name. He was the U.S. nominee for both of the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Awards, as a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a writer in 1988.

It's not only for kids that Steig's work offers revelations... [Abel's Island] is a deep meditation on time and endurance Los Angeles Times There was no trouble in locating the best book of the year, William Steig's Abel's Island... Steig is triumphant in the quality of his prose - nor has he stinted on the quality and quantity of his illustrations The New York Times Abel is a classic Steig hero: amiable, dignified, polite and given to moments of brave self-understanding that cause him to rise to desperate challenges... a joy to read aloud Wall Street Journal Abel's adventures are presented with Steig's usual grace, warmth, and insight, and the delights of the text are further enhanced by his drawings. On all counts, it's a winner School Library Journal, Starred Review With inimitable style, Steig tells the story of a mouse... who gets swept away Booklist, Starred Review Whatever child likes The Bat-Poet or Charlotte's Web will love the way Steig uses our language and will want to relive Abel's odyssey on many a rainy Sunday afternoon Washington Post Book World Steig's books are like perfect smooth stones, complete in themselves, with no seams to be found... he always has the skill to bring together what seems to be a lot of spur-of-the-moment choices and make them into stories that land so perfectly and satisfyingly and feel so inevitable in their endings -- Jon Klassen, author of This Is Not My Hat Guardian