Island of the Blue Dolphins [Hardcover]

Scott O'Dell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1974

Records the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off the California coast when her tribe emigrated and she was left behind.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Scott O'Dell won the Newbery Medal for Island of the Blue Dolphins in 1961, and in 1976 the Children's Literature Association named this riveting story one of the 10 best American children's books of the past 200 years. O'Dell was inspired by the real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana. The author based his book on the life of this remarkable young woman who, during the evacuation of Ghalas-at (an island off the coast of California), jumped ship to stay with her young brother who had been abandoned on the island. He died shortly thereafter, and Karana fended for herself on the island for 18 years.

O'Dell tells the miraculous story of how Karana forages on land and in the ocean, clothes herself (in a green-cormorant skirt and an otter cape on special occasions), and secures shelter. Perhaps even more startlingly, she finds strength and serenity living alone on the island. This beautiful edition of Island of the Blue Dolphins is enriched with 12 full-page watercolor paintings by Ted Lewin, illustrator of more than 100 children's books, including Ali, Child of the Desert. A gripping story of battling wild dogs and sea elephants, this simply told, suspenseful tale of survival is also an uplifting adventure of the spirit. (Ages 9 to 12) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

"A haunting and unusual story based on the fact that in the early 1800s an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone on a rocky island far off the coast of California . . . A quiet acceptance of fate characterizes her ordeal." School Library Journal, Starred

"O'Dell tells the miraculous story of how Karana forages on land and in the ocean, clothes herself (in a green-cormorant skirt and an otter cape on special occasions), and secures shelter. Perhaps even more startlingly, she finds strength and serenity living alone on the island. This beautiful edition of Island of the Blue Dolphins is enriched with 12 full-page watercolor paintings by Ted Lewin, illustrator of more than 100 children's books, including Ali, Child of the Desert. A gripping story of battling wild dogs and sea elephants, this simply told, suspenseful tale of survival is also an uplifting adventure of the spirit." Amazon.com

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: G. K. Hall (1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816161704
• ISBN-13: 978-0816161706
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (726 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,128,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott O'Dell (1898-1989), one of the most respected authors of historical fiction, received the Newbery Medal, three Newbery Honor Medals, and the Hans Christian Andersen Author Medal, the highest international recognition for a body of work by an author of books for young readers. Some of his many books include The Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Road to Damietta, Sing Down the Moon, and The Black Pearl.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karana: Tenacious and Hopeful Hero, June 23, 2005

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Island of the Blue Dolphins (Paperback)

As a child, my grade school librarian wore out from me asking to borrow so often. Later, as a private tutor, my students chose this again and again. "Island of the Blue Dolphins" lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest children's book ever.

Libraries are good for borrowing books, but some books should be on the shelf of any young reader. Scott O'Dell's magnificent "Island of the Blue Dolphins" is just that. Save your librarian some grief and buy a copy.

"The Island of the Blue Dolphins" is not the story of a foolish young girl who missed the boat when the island was being evacuated. Far from it. Karana was on the boat. Her playful little brother, Ramo, wasn't. He was only 6 years old and could never survive alone. She jumped off and headed to shore to save him. The boat left.

Every little girl or boy has been alone, frightened without a clear way of finding his or her way home. Often, the problem is fixed by turning the next corner, finding out it is the same neighborhood it has always been. In the case of "The Island of the Blue Dolphins," Karana's home never changes. Everyone she knows and loves, however, leaves.

For 18 years Karana took care of herself, and she grows from a preteen child into a woman just entering her 30s. This is that story, filled with adventures similar to "Robinson Crusoe," another true story set to fiction. Fans of "Swiss Family Robinson," will likewise enjoy this.

Karana's ingenuity to survive is surpassed by her tenacity and hope. Weathering hard circumstances, such wild dogs, storms and the constant need to find fresh food and good water. She uses what she learned from her parents and other villagers before the left, and what she learns by trial an error.

As exciting as "Treasure Island," only with a female protagonist, the book is more than a tale of heroics. Scott O'Dell's keen sense of description separates this from the rest of the bookshelf. Although sensitive that his reader is younger, he still manages to place to reader in the story, imagining the smell of sea or hearing the not-so-far off bark of wild dogs.

Like other classics as "Old Yeller" and "My Brother Sam Is Dead," not everything comes easily to Karana. There are somber times when people leave, when her brother dies, or when things look bleak. O'Dell tells the story as realistically as he can, which makes the happy times happier.

I fully recommend "Island of the Blue Dolphins," by Scott O'Dell. It won "The Newberry Medal for Best Children's Book" for good reason.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Island of the Blue Dolphins, October 17, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Island of the Blue Dolphins (Paperback)

If you like heart breaking,touching,and sad books,you should definitely read the Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. It's about an Indian girl who gets separated from her family and is stranded on an island. Now she needs to survive.

Difficult challenges face Karana. For an example,she needs to find a way to hunt so she can eat. She makes a spear out of wood and carves a rock in a shape of a triangle and catches fish to eat. This book made me feel sad for kids who are orphans and who live on their own.

This book was so terrific the I read it in only two days! I would recommend this book to people of ages 8-150. And I think girls and boys would like this book because it is not too scary, it is just the perfect book to read. I read it, my mom read it,you should read it too.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply written, but beautiful and poignant, January 27, 2010

By 

Ursiform (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Island of the Blue Dolphins (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I am old enough to have had this book read to my elementary school class when it was still fairly new. It is a book I have remembered ever since.

What is known is that in 1853 a lone woman was "rescued" from San Nicolas Island off the coast of California. The rest of her tribe had been evacuated eighteen years before, but no one who spoke her language remained after those years had passed. Thus she could tell no one her story, save the little she communicated to a priest with gestures, and she became ill and died after a few weeks.

From this bit of history Scott O'Dell imagines a life for her. It is, of course, fiction, and certainly doesn't match her real life. But he thoughtfully explores a couple of challenging topics: What happens when cultures meet and compete over resources? And how can a stranded adolescent learn to survive alone and to grow up with nothing but memories of her people and culture to guide her? It is a very touching story of loss, learning, and self-recreation. Some parts of the story I remembered these forty-some years later, and many parts I did not. But I was glad to again make my acquaintance with this book.

The writing is leisurely but engaging. It may be too slowly paced for many children today, who have grown up with frenetic action, short attention span entertainment. But surely there must still be those more contemplative young souls who will warm to this wonderful book.