Karana, a twelve year old Indian girl whose tribe resides on a fish-shaped island surrounded by otter and dolphins, faces extreme loneliness when her tribe leaves the island and their ways of life after an attack by the Aleuts that results in the deaths of many of their men including Karana's father, the chief. Karana leaves the boat and goes back ashore when she sees her younger brother still on the island. Her brother is soon attacked and killed by wild dogs, and Karana must figure out how to survive completely alone. She makes weapons, hunts and fishes for food, and builds a shelter, all the while seeking to avenge her brother's death by killing the enemy dogs. She is constantly on the look out for a ship that will reunite her with her tribe. She lies in terror of the day when Aleuts might come back to the island to hunt the otter. This fear leads her to try to escape in a canoe at one point, but she does not succeed and returns to the island.After successfully killing several of the dogs, she takes in one of the dogs, who eventually dies of old age. The Aleuts do come, and Karana hides in a cave, but she is spotted by an Aleutian woman whom she befriends. The Aleuts go, once again leaving Karana completely alone. In the end, a ship does come, Karana is rescued, and she must adapt to a new way of life and leave her customs and the island behind.
Personal Impressions
I actually love survival stories and even watch TV shows about survival in strange situations. When I chose to read this book, I didn't realize what it was about, other than it had something to do with an island. I knew the book was taught in the 5th grade at some schools, but I personally didn't know anything about it or even about the author, Scott O'Dell. I was pretty much hooked when the first tragedy of the novel occurred, resulting in the death of the Indian chief. I was screaming in my head, "Don't go back!" when Karana fled ship because she saw her brother still on the island. I will say the plot was a little predictable after that. For some reason, I just knew the younger brother would die and Karana would be alone. I knew when she administered medicine to the Aleut dog that they would develop a mutual respect for each other. And ultimately, I knew that dog would die. Even still, I was pretty much fascinated by the character of Karana. She's this dynamic character that does very big things at the age of 12, the same age give or take a year of the kids I teach now. I became even more enthralled with the story after discovering that it is based on a true story. I give the book two thumbs up and recommended it to my 6th graders. I know that after she saw me reading it, one of my students checked it out herself and did her six weeks project over it.
Professional Review
From School Library Journal (May 2004):
O'Dell, Scott. Island of the Blue Dolphins. Houghton. 1960.
Gr. 5-8--Based on the life of a real Chumash Indian girl abandoned on an island off the coast of California in the 1800s, this story describes how Karana was self-sustaining for 18 years before rescue. O'Dell details how she made clothing from animal skins, constructed weapons to fend off wild dogs, and dried fish to augment her food supply. This remarkable heroine continues to inspire readers and teach them about Native American lore. Audiobook available from Listening Library.
Library Uses
I think it would be interesting to pair this book with a research-based project on island survival. The librarian could pull resources related to the topic, and the students could research how to survive on a deserted island. They would need sound resources to complete the project, and librarians are experts in the field of research. The unit would work for science, English Language Arts and Reading, and even math; therefore, it could be considered cross-curricular. Research would primarily be conducted in the library via the Internet and books. It would also be the perfect opportunity for the librarian to talk about citing and plagiarism.
References
O’Dell, S. (1960). Island of the blue dolphins. Boston, MS: Houghton Mifflin.
Reutter, V. (2004). Island of the blue dolphins (Book). School Library Journal, 50(5), 64. Retrieved: www.schoollibraryjournal.com.
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