Island of the Blue Dolphins: A Newbery Award Winner

Scott O'Dell

Feb 2010 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

Scott O’Dell's Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. Based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins has captivated readers for generations.

On San Nicolas Island, dolphins flash in the surrounding blue waters, sea otter play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, a girl named Karana spent eighteen years alone.

Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that killed her younger brother, constantly guard against Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. Her courage, self-reliance, and grit has inspired millions of readers in this breathtaking adventure.

As Smithsonian magazine put it: "For kids all over the country, reading the book in language arts classes, Karana is a powerful symbol of their growing independence. Through her, they can imagine themselves making their way in the world alone—and thriving."

Ratings and reviews

It's a good book. It shows the greed and cruelty of some white people of the far past. It shows the culture of the Indians, though none turned to Christianity, and it shows the beauty of the islands that exist today..Really good book. Any ridicule of this book of skeptics that never read the book and just try to give it a bad name

I've been revisiting a lot of my childhood favorites lately. Island of the Blue Dolphins start popping up in various places, so I curled up with it one recent evening to reread for the umpteenth time since I was 9 (though probably not for at least a decade). For me, the magic is still there. Karana has a strength and determination in her spirit that I still admire. I found myself questioning now, as I did back then, whether I would make it all alone on an island for 18 years. Probably not. But we know that at least one woman did. The book was inspired by a woman who lived alone on an island for 18 years. But especially as an adult, I understand that this book is pure fiction. No one really knows the truth about how the woman came to be alone on the island, nor how she actually survived all of those years, though the author did extensive research into the people of the area and the time. I especially appreciated the extra insights given in the 50th anniversary edition of the book, including the introduction written by beloved author Lois Lowry. As an adult, I appreciate the story of survival and how Karana develops a strong love for nature and the world around her. I think a focus on these themes - and that women are capable of doing the same things men can - is what is most important and outweighs trying to teach this as a nonfiction historical text, which it is not. But it is such a good story. I understand that Scott O'Dell later wrote a sequel. I have no idea what that could possibly be, but it is in my TBR pile.

I hate this stupid book, it has everything okay or good enough. But there is only one thing that I don't like that makes me hate it. And that is that she keeps on running into problems and half of them never are sloved. If you could could fix that the book would be awesome. And also I don't understant the point of the book what is the big problem there are to many to actully get big one. And also I did not understand most of the words and I am 30. And also it is so boaring.

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.

Ted Lewin grew up in an old frame house in Buffalo, New York, with two brothers, one sister, two parents, a lion, an iguana, a chimpanzee, and an assortment of more conventional pets. The lion was given to his older brother, Don, while he was traveling as a professional wrestler, and he shipped it home. The family kept Sheba in the basement fruit cellar until Don returned and their mother convinced him to give it to the Buffalo zoo. Ted always knew he wanted to be an illustrator. As a child he copied the work of illustrators and painters he admired, including N. C. Wyeth, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Velázquez, and Goya. When it came time to go to art school (Pratt), he needed to earn money to finance his education. So, following in his brother’s footsteps, he took a summer job as a wrestler -- the beginning of a 15-year part-time career that eventually inspired his autobiographical book I Was a Teenage Professional Wrestler. Ted’s career as an artist began with illustrations for adventure magazines, and it’s only over the last several years that he has devoted his time to writing and illustrating children’s books. "I’m having more fun doing this than anything I’ve ever done before," he says. He is an avid traveler, and many of his books are inspired by trips to such places as the Amazon River, the Sahara Desert, Botswana, Egypt, Lapland, and India. His Market!, published in 1996, showcases markets around the world, from Uganda to Ireland to Ecuador.Touch and Go is a collection of stories about the adventures Ted had while researching his books. Gorilla Walk is his first collaboration with his wife, Betsy, and is about their trek to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda. They’ve just completed their second collaboration, Elephant Quest, set in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Ted’s current project is about a Civil War drummer boy.Ted and Betsy live in Brooklyn, New York, where they share their home with two cats, Slick and Chopper.