Abel's Island by William Steig

Survival: Although escaping from the island is Abel's first concern, he soon has to worry about finding food and shelter. He also needs to stay on the lookout for predators.

Change: At the start of the story, Abel is a fop who never has to work. Being stranded on an island in the middle of river forces him to change and expect more from himself.

Love: Abel often thinks about his wife Amanda, and he clings to the hope of seeing her again. His clothes get rumpled and stained, but he takes care of his wife's scarf and guards it until he can return it to her.

William Steig was an American cartoonist and writer who was born in 1907. Curiously, Abel's adventure also takes place in 1907.

William helped support his family during the Great Depression as a freelance artist. He drew and sold 1600 cartoons to the New Yorker since 1930. In the 1940s, he tried his hand at carving figurines from wood. He did well enough that his creations were part of a sculpture exhibit in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1949.

Finally, William tried his hand at writing. He published his first children's story in 1968, The Minstrel Pig. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble followed in 1970, and is one of his more famous stories.

Did you know that William Steig also wrote Shrek? Dreamworks made Shrek famous, but William Steig came up with the idea first.

William Steig died on October 3rd, 2003. He was 95 years old.