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Module 4: Island of the Blue Dolphins


Summary: How many times do pre-teens beg their parents to let them stay home by themselves, assuring their parents that they are more then capable of taking care of themselves?   If you're of those that questions the resiliency of the younger generation, then read this book and discover just what they're capable of.  A 12-year-old girl's tribe needs to be shipped off their island and onto safer and more contemporary conditions after almost being annihilated by intruding hunters.  Unfortunately as the ship is sailing off, Karana sees her younger brother still on the island, so she decides to jump off the ship to be with him with the hope that another ship will soon return for them.  No ship returns that day and on the next day the younger brother is killed by a pack of wild dogs.  Karana discovers that she is left all alone on the island.  She learns how to survive by building her own shelter, hunt her own food, make her own clothes, and, more importantly, masters the wild dogs.  While on the island, Katana is visited by the same hunters who killed her family and ends up befriending one of their female companions.  Amazingly, it isn't until many years later that Katana is discovered on the island and is brought into civilization. Her survival defies all arguments that young kids are incapable of being resourceful.

Reference: O'Dell, S. (1961).  Island of the blue dolphins. New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Publishing Company.

Impressions: I had always seen this title on many book award lists, but I had never gotten around to reading it.  After seeing the title once again on my graduate class reading list, I decided to find out what the story was all about.  I was not disappointed, as a matter of fact, it went beyond anything I expected from it, especially when I learned that this was based on true events.  From the opening paragraphs O'Dell weaves a fascinating setting with a engrossing story.  Then when Katana is alone on the island, you can't help but wonder how she'll survive. Through her struggles and challenges you find yourself marveling at Katana's ingenuity and rooting for her survival.  Though O'Dell may have taken some liberties in the story, he tells a story that rings mostly true. After reading the story, I wanted to find out more about the events and learn as much as I could about Katana and her survival tale.

Prefessional Review: 
This beautiful edition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the book's original publication in 1960. A welcome addition is the introduction by Lois Lowry, providing background on the historical events which inspired this story, and some thoughtful questions about O'Dell's interpretation of those events. Although this was O'Dell's first YA novel, it garnered him the Newbery Medal and he went on to receive the Hans Christian Andersen medal for his body of work. Readers meet 12-year-old Karana, the sole survivor of a tribe of indigenous people inhabiting a remote island about seventy miles southwest of Santa Barbara. After otter hunters and wild dogs kill off most of her people, Karana becomes self-sufficient and protects herself against wild animals, the weather, and potential intruders. Karana first tries to kill and then befriends Rantu, the leader of the dog pack, who becomes her beloved companion. This opens the door to her shifting view of all the animals on the island as more than just food, but spiritual beings with whom she may live in harmony. When at last Karana is rescued from the island and taken to the mission in Santa Barbara, she remains alone, because no one is alive who understands her language. It is a touching story of resilience and determination in the face of astounding obstacles. This new edition can foster rediscovery of a compelling character and enhance social science lessons about indigenous peoples, the role of missionaries in colonization, and California history. Readers will be impressed by Karana's strength, resourcefulness and her survival skills. 2010 (orig. 1960), Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, $22.00. Ages 12 to 16.

 McMillen Ph.D, Paula (2010). [Review for Island of the Blue Dolphins]. Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:3574/index.php/jbookdetail/jqbookdetail?page=1&pos=10&isbn=9780547424835.

Library use: I actually believe that this book can be used with geography, accompanied by a little History.  Students can can locate the island, study its elements, the terrain, the surrounding islands of the coast of California, and the history of the indigenous people.  Lois Lowry gives a little history of the people in the forward and insight in to the events surrounding Karana.  Plus, there are explorers that made news from their discovery of the actual cave on San NIcolas Island in 2012.  With all this geography, history, and contemporary news this book would work absolutely great with social studies lesson plans.

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