Barty Crusoe and His Man Saturday  -  1908
Frances Hodgson Burnett
248 pages
genre  -  Children's Literature, picture book
my rating  - 3 out of 5 stars

The first line in the book is: "I hope you remember that I told you that the story of Barty and the Good Wolf was the kind of story which could go on and on, and that when it stopped it could begin again."  A very big hint that this story is not the first in a series. 

I did some checking, and Burnett published a book called The Good Wolf a year before Barty Crusoe and His Man Saturday was released.  While I enjoyed reading Barty Crusoe and His Man Saturday, I would strongly suggest you read The Good Wolf first.  There were a few parts in the book where I was puzzled.  I'm sure those would be cleared up with information from The Good Wolf.

One rainy day Barty is up in the attic and he finds a book. "It was a rather fat book, and it had been read so much that it was falling to pieces. On the first page there was a picture of a very queer looking man. He was dressed in clothes made of goat skin; he carried a gun on one shoulder and a parrot on the other, and his name was printed under the picture and it was—Robinson Crusoe."

Barty reads the book and decides that he wants his own adventure on a deserted island.  He calls for the Good Wolf, who arranges the trip.  They have a wonderful time.

The book never mentions Barty's age, but in the illustrations, it looks like he is about 5 or 6-years-old.  Speaking of illustrations, be sure to find a copy of this book with all the pictures and drawings, especially if you are going to read this to a child.  They are wonderful.  Gutenberg.org has a pdf version with all the illustrations and drawings.


About the author  -

I have previously reviewed a book by this author.  Please see my post on June 14, 2013 for the biography about Frances Hodgson Burnett.