The first Newbery Honor book that I read was Abel’s Island written by William Steig. This book tells the story of a newly married mouse named Abel. Abel and his new wife go on a picnic in the woods and before he knows it, he ends up stranded on an island while trying to save his wife’s scarf during a hurricane. During the storm Abel gets carried way and wakes up on an uninhabited island by himself. Accustomed to a life of leisure, Abel tries to be resourceful so he can survive and try to make it back home.
For me, the first few pages of the story started out a little slow and uninteresting, but that quickly changed. The story suddenly captivated me and I was not able to put the book down. I was curious to read on to find out what the clever little mouse would do next when he came head to head with Mother Nature to try to get off the island and back home to his wife, Amanda.
This book does challenge its young readers with some sophisticated vocabulary, but does so in an interesting way without slowing the story and making it too difficult to read. It also has an underlying message to never give up trying and try over and over again until you succeed.
I thought this book is great and one that I will certainly add to my own personal collection. I would highly recommend it to others!
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