Robinson by Peter Sís (review)

An adventurous young boy loves playing pirates with his friends ("Together, we rule the high seas!"), but when a costume-party opportunity appears, he bucks the piratical trend slightly by appearing as legendary adventurer Robinson Crusoe. His friends aren't on board, however, and he goes home in humiliation and ends up in bed. Next thing he knows he's alone on an island, where his Crusoe-learned survival skills and the friendly animals allow him to flourish; then he wakes up to find that his repentant visiting friends want to play with him—and to learn more about Crusoe. While the "was it all a dream?" concept is somewhat cheesy, kids who know Wild Things will recognize the transition to green-world fantasy and some more specific elements here; even if they're not familiar with Robinson Crusoe, they'll relish the notion of adventurous survival on a desert island. Sís shifts from his etching-flavored linework in the realistic scenes to a looser-limbed watercolor style that sometimes gives Gauguin-like tropical atmosphere to the Robinsonian island and sometimes veers into a stylized bestiary approach (aficionados will appreciate Defoe hat-tips such as the boy's goat and parrot, as well as his discovery of footprints). Audiences will enjoy the island survival story, and kids who've encountered their own schisms in pretend play will appreciate the narrator's dilemma. A note explains that this tale is rooted in an event from the author/illustrator's own youth.