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Summary: Required Summer Reading for My Daughter
Review: My 9-year old daughter was assigned Island of the Blue Dolphins as required summer reading -- her 4th grade class will be studying California history once school starts in the fall. My husband and I decided to also read the book this summer (for the first time) as part of our family reading.Our daughter loved the book, espcially the parts about Karana making friends with the animals and surviving on her own. The book offers tantalizing possibilities for a 9-year old. My husband thought it was a great adventure book, and he liked the idea that the protagonist was a girl this time. I, too, thought it was inspiring that the main character was a brave young female who was able to wrestle with the natural environment and yet be respectful of its wonders. I do, however, have two concerns, perhaps petty and irrelevant given the larger vision of the story. (1) Nowhere in the book was there a mention how how Karan made her many fires. She used fire to rid the houses at her abandoned village; she made fires for cooking and keeping warm. I remember only one description that hinted at the difficulty of making fire -- when Karana sprinkled ashes over her night fire and blew the embers in the morning to keep it alive.(I hope I got the description right.) Fire is very basic to sustaining long-term survival for humans. I think a young reader would have appreciated a brief description. (2) Given that the book was first published around 1960 or so and written by a man, I can understand why there was no suggestion whatsoever of Karana's first period and how she dealt with it. Karana starts out as a 12-year old and becomes a 30-year old at the end of the story (at least according to the author's afterword). Yet much of the book's description could have been attributed to a boy, except perhaps for Karana's interest in making the cormorant skirt. Her sexuality is, however, acknowledged at the end of the book when Karana realizes she can finally leave the island and she drawas the blue line on her face (as her sister did many years before) to indicate she is an unmarried female. My concerns do not diminish the power of the book and I only wish the book had not eluded me when I was my daughter's age. Many of the great books about girls have the protagonist as orphaned in order to allow her to make defining decisions unfettered by parental, especially, maternal, constraints. While this books falls in that vein, Island is based on a true story and the real Karana did have to rely on her wits to survive and make sense of the world. If only I had read the book as a young girl!
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Summary: Great!!!
Review: The Island of the Blue Dolphins is such a great and moving book. You always seem like you want to help Karana in her troubles.
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Summary: The First Book I Ever Liked!
Review: This book is a great book to read.I would recommend reading this book to your student's, or studen's should read this them selves. My fifth grade teacher was reading it to the class when I came to my new school. I didn't get to read the whole thing, so I checked it out at the library,I'm glad I did!This book is the first one i actually said "I love this book" when I was finished. Buy this book and you won't regret it.
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Summary: This book is, and will be my favorite book for all time!
Review: I have been reading for a long time, but i never finished a book and said "I love this book." This is the first book I did that to. It really is a sad story, But a very good one.I suggust this book to anyone. This is a great book about fiendship, survival, and dealing whith the hard times.
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Summary: THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ!!!!!
Review: I AM NOW 38 AND I STILL REMEMBER MY TEACHER IN GRADE SCHOOL READING THE CLASS THIS BOOK. I WOULD ALWAYS LOOK FOR IT IN THE LIBARARY BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT WAS CHECKED OUT. THIS REALLY IS THE BEST BOOK I HAVE READ.
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Summary: A delightful adventure of a young independent woman
Review: A vivid book depicting the island's environment and the intimate lifestyle of Karana who is trapped on an island off of the coast of California.
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Summary: A life of a lonely young girl,who struggles to make the best
Review: I thought that Scott O'Dell's book, Island of the Blue Dolpins, was extraordinary. It captures a reader and takes then into the tough life of a young girl by the name of Karana. The reader not only reads the story, but somehow aslo seems to experience the tragedies and stuggles experience by Karana herself. Karana finds herself deserted on her tribe's island, the Island of the Blue Dolphins, and struggled to survive until they come back for her. Meanwhile, Karana finds strength and wisdom living on the island all by herself. She learns how to put clothes on her back and a roof over her head. Karana also becomes clever at living off the nature around her, eating fish and finding fresh water. She grows close to the land and ocean, her only companions, until she become aquainted with the wildlife on the island. Karana is accompanied by several animals, which grow very dear to her. Karana grows desperate for her tribe's return and finally gives up. But to her surprise and patience, she finds that there is much more in store for her. I would definitely reccomend this book to elementery/junior high teachers. It would be an adventure for their students to read. Another book I strongly reccomend, that is similiar to Island of the Blue Dolphins, is Joy Cowley's, The Silent One. This book also takes place on an island and leads the reader to join the exciting adventure of a deaf/mute boy and his village.
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Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: If you are looking for a good book, I would highly recommend this book. It is about a girl named Karana who lived on aan island called the Island of the Blue Dolphins. She must survive alone on an island since her tribe left her and her brother there alone. I would also recommend the sequel to this book which continues the story of her, ZIA.
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Summary: A fantastic Book Every Kid Should Read!
Review: I think that this was the best book! It was It wasamazing how Karana was able to survive, tame 2 wild dogs, raise 4 birds, and help an otter.She was left on the island when her people went to a far off country east of the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Her brother being killed by her enemy, the wild dogs. After making the wepons to kill the dogs she turns up to take home the leader, the wounded dog, Rontu. Rontu would bark at the gulls, bark at big fish, and bark when the Alute girl, Tutok came. Tutok left a necklace for Karana she began to make a present for Tutok. Then later Rontu died. Karana found another dog that looked liked Rontu. She cought it and named it Rontu-Aru. Read the book to find out the rest! It's a wonderful book!
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Summary: One of my all time favorite books!
Review: I am a young adult librarian working in a public library system, and I have come across some wonderful material for young people. However, after all of the reading I've done for children and teens, this book remains one of my favorites. I would recommend this book to anyone who is age 10 to 100!
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