The Coral Island

Ralph, Jack and Peterkin find themselves the sole survivors of a shipwreck on a deserted coral island in the South Pacific. Although fate has led them to temporary safety, the three marooned lads are forced to carve out a life for themselves from what nature provides. They rapidly learn which fruit to eat, which animals to hunt, and which lagoons are best for bathing. Resourceful as they are, their desert island idyll is often disturbed and they face numerous terrifying threats – pirates, sharks, cannibalism and local tribes among them. Amidst all the chaos, the trio still face the riddle of how to engineer their rescue from their tropical exile. Following in Robinson Crusoe's footsteps, and yet with added adventure, Ballantyne's writing is a classic adored by previous generations of children and which deserves to be discovered all over again by a modern audience.