Destinys-Child's Full Review: Robert M. Ballantyne - The Coral Island
Title - The Coral Island Author - Robert M. Ballantyne Age Group - 9 – 15 ISDN - Puffin; ISBN: 0140367616
I had to go into the depths of the unlisted book list to find this title. It is one of the older “classics” that you have never heard of.
My grandmother is the one that gave me this book when I was 12 and I have read it several times since then. All the stories that pertain to children having adventures off in exotic places are set to appeal to a child’s imagination. This story is no different, to an adult being trapped on a deserted island with none of life’s comforts might be a nightmare, but to a child it would be a dream come true. At least that’s true for myself and most other children I knew.
Unfortunately when an adult reads a story like this we tend to criticize all aspects of it. I think around age 17 we start to loose our imagination and replace it with the “facts of life”. I myself have fallen victim to this on several times, whether it is reading a book or watching a movie. That’s why reading a book like this is probably good for adults as well as children. If you can suspend your disbelief for the length of this book you will truly enjoy it.
Plot
Set in the 1800’s in the age of the tall ships and undiscovered lands we learn that Ralph Rover (Age 15) is about to embark on his first voyage across the sea. After saying goodbye to his parents he leaves with his best friends Jack Martin (Age 18) and Peterson Gay (Age 14). They are excited about leaving home and beginning their new adventures at sea.
Unfortunately tragedy hits and they are stuck in a hurricane that sinks the ships and they end up washing ashore on the coral island. When they awaken they are confused as to where they are and finally have to come to grips that they are alone and trapped. The only items they have are a knife and pen set.
Almost at once they begin to explore and they find themselves on a beautiful island with all manner of animals from birds to sharks. There is food to drink, food to eat, and shelter to be built.
They spend most of their days playing in the sun, exploring the jungle, and swimming. It is a life any child would love to have. It seems they do not care if they are ever found. That is until they find out that the other inhabitants of the island may not want them there unless of course they are the main course. More frequent visitors to the island are a band of merciless pirates that could always use some slaves.
Now play takes a back seat to surviving these new terrors…
My Thoughts
The author of the book does an awesome job of describing things in detail without going overboard. The way he writes about what the island looks like and the things the boys find is just incredible. The opening parts about rigging a ship and other ship knowledge were just detailed enough to give me an idea about those types of ships so I wouldn’t be completely lost.
The story isn’t bad either, like I said before it describes every boy’s dream of the perfect utopia. That is until the cannibals and pirates make their presence known. The boy’s do the typical things any kids would do if faced with the same situation, which is play play play until forced to do something like get food to eat. It becomes clear early on that the children have a lot of schooling. They know a lot of facts about the wildlife and plants that kids nowadays would be clueless about. How many kids today would know what a breadfruit tree was? Heck I bet nowadays they wouldn’t know you could drink what was in a coconut.
The only thing that bugs me is the fact that the boy’s seem to recover quite quickly after finding out they were alone. Most children I know (and even myself as a child) would have moments of complete terror knowing I would never see civilization again. Of course they are older children, but this is still their first time away from home.
Of course we have to get into the 3 boys fooling the whole band of pirates that is pretty unlikely and unbelievable.
Of course the book is geared for younger kids and I am almost positive that your children will love it. Just try and keep your comments to yourself while you are reading it to them :)
The textbook, Coral Island, by R. M. Ballantyne, available in Paperback. Published by: Wildside Press. Edition: . ISBN10: 1592245064. ISBN13: 978...More at Textbooks.com
The Coral Island, published in 1858 and one of his earliest books, is his best memorial today. It is a retelling of the potent myth of the castaway. T...More at HotBookSale
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