Island of the Blue Dolphins

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Historical Fiction/Chapter Book/Newberry Medal

Island of the Blue Dolphins is the story of a young Indian girl who gets left alone on her island. While waiting for someone to return to her, she keeps herself safe by building shelter and weapons, and hunting for her own food. She is left alone for many years, struggling to survive on her own, while forming relationships with wild animals to keep herself from being lonely.

This book helps students expand their horizons and realize how different other worlds are. There is a strong female character who does a lot of things that men 'should' do, such as hunting and making weapons. Even though these things are forbidden among women of her tribe, she does what she needs to do to survive. A huge theme in this story is survival, making it interesting and exciting to read. There is also a lot of conflict/conflict resolution and problem solving. This book would be great for talking about conflict resolution. Although this is fiction, it is based on a true story. There is a history standard (3.H.2) dealing with historical narratives. While this isn't exactly a historical narrative, it does offer a look into someone else's life, and helps the reader gain a new perspective.

O'Dell, S. (1960). Island of the Blue Dolphins. New York, NY: Dell Yearling.