Customer Reviews
A Wonderful Classic 
2008-07-16
This book touched me as a young girl. I think I read it about ten times growing up. It is a wonderful story about courage, survival, isolation, and trust. It is an amazing adventure and I recommend it for all children. The book is deserving of awards but I would have loved it even if it had been an obscure story that never won awards - there are a lot of good stories out there that are like that. I am going to buy an extra copy of this for a little niece, so she will have it to read in a few years. I think this type of book has the power to mold and shape lives, who we are and who we will become.
boring as hell 
2008-07-09
i was forced to read this in school and i could not stand it... i got about halfway in before i was forced, out of bordom, to skim the rest of the book... save you time and effort and do not read this book.
Very Eccentric! Great Read! 2008-06-07
Alone, on a deserted island. No weapons. Animal predators lurking where you can't see. A need for food. A drive for survival. That pretty much covers Karana's life, when her tribe sails away, and leaves her in the remains of living by herself, for years to come. There's numerous things she has to teach herself how to do--and many things that she'll discover that she will not do again. She has to learn exactly how to fend for herself--it's a life or death matter. After all, no one may ever come back to find her...
Awesome book, very eccentric--Not your average read!
You'll have to find out how Karana becomes courageous enough to take on her natural state of isolation.
I made my 9 year old son read this book and he loved it! 2008-06-04
Last summer my 9 year old son threw a fit because I said that he had to do a little summer reading - I literally started reading the book aloud to him while he was whinning. I read this book in my youth and remember really liking it. We ended up reading it together and he was so intrigued with what happened to Karana(the main character) and her struggles. I enjoyed reading it with him and seeing his reactions to the very grown-up situations that she had to deal with, i.e. hunting and gathering food. It is a quick read and I recommend reading it with your child.
Childhood Memories 2008-04-12
This book brings back good memories of my childhood and all the great books my teachers suggested. I am an avid reader and I bought this book so that I could have my own copy and re-read it whenever I wanted to. I plan on keeping this for my own children someday...I hope they enjoy it as much as I did.
Great Book! 2008-04-03
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind.
This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.
A Warm Novel 2008-03-18
I read Island of The Blue Dolphins sometime before Christmas this year. It was a pleasure to read--it was simple, brief, and the characters were fresh and realistic. O' Dell used very descriptive writing, nevertheless, it did not go to where it is tedious to read because of the overload of words.
If you do not like novels without much action besides attacks with sea critters I would not recommend this book. This book has a place in my heart because it is 'warm', and just tells about someone's life. If novels were just about a regular school child's life, it would be drab, I admit. But with the novels written in this form, the main character usually has a twist--this one is that it is about a girl who lives on an island long ago, and has to fend for herself until she finds away to leave the island.
It certainly has earned its Newbery Award.
--Willow, aged 11
Reviews by Ms. Ryan's students 
2008-03-04
By: Allie
The book Island of the Blue Dolphins is about a girl named Karana who gets stranded on a desert island. She had to wait for 18 years for people to come back for her. Overall, this book is a great read. What's cool about this book is that is based on a true story. My favorite part of the book was when she finds Rontu aru, a dog. I recommend Island of the Blue Dolphins for anybody who enjoys adventure stories. I give it 5 stars.
Bethany - Island of the Blue Dolphins the story of a young girl who survives on a deserted island. While trying to survive she finds a lot of friends along the way. I think that Island of the Blue Dolphins is an outstanding book. I think that it should be a book that everybody should read because it is a touching story but this is not for all ages because in some parts lead to killing. On a scale of one to five I would probably give it a four.
By: Brandi B.
In the book The Island of the Blue Dolphins an Indian girl named Karana becomes stranded on the Island and has to defend for her life from the dogs. She finds out that one of the Aleut dogs has been trapped on the Island with her and becomes her friend after abandoning his pack. Karana had named the Aleut dog Rontu.
My favorite part of the book would be when she tries to kill the Devilfish, Rontu got into the grasp of the Devilfish, and when Karana had saved Rontu's life.
If I could change the ending I would because it dropped off right when I was wondering what happened to Karana. I would change it to when Karana was going to England, and when Rontu and Karana got to England.
Overall I can say that the book was awesome. It had clear understandings and Scott O' Dell had explained the story very well.
Out of 5 stars I would have to say I give it 4.5 stars.
By Dakota R.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is about a girl named Karana. Karana lives on an island with her tribe, but one day her tribe leaves but she gets off to go get her brother but later he dies. I liked the book I thought that it was very interesting. I would give the book four stars, because I think that the author explained everything very well. Karana has a dog-named Rontu but he later dies. That reminded me of my first dog because Rontu was her first dog and he died and my first dog died. I would recommend this book to people who like to explore and like animals. Lastly I enjoyed reading Island of the Blue Dolphins.
By Leah
Island of the Blue Dolphins is a book about a girl named Karana who is stranded on and Island with her brother but he dies from a pack of wild dogs. They have a lot of adventures. My favorite character is Rontu because he a wild dog and he is cute and fluffy. One of my least favorite parts is when Rontu dies, it is really sad. If I got to change a part of the book it would definetly be when Rontu is dying. My thoughts about this book is that it's a pretty good book but very sad. I recommend this book to people who like survivor books. I rate this book a three star book.
By Mark L
Island of the Blue Dolphins is about 24 year old woman trapped on a island since the day the Aleuts came. The Aleuts came to the island to fish but soon they took some of the natives on the island of the blue dolphins to where they live. But the woman was left on the island her name was Karana. She has to make her own weapons food and shelter. Karana becomes friends with a lot of animals like a dog, birds, and a otter.
Two years later Karana is about 27 years old and is wondering if the Aleuts will ever come and rescue her. But one day a ship come but it was not the Aleuts so Karana tries to hide herself until the leave. 1 year later she is still on the island and her dog dies, but she sees that the dog had a son so she tries to find him and keep. Then about 1 month later Carana sees a ship and it is the Aleuts to come and save her.
I would say this book wasn't very exciting. You would kind of know what would happen next. Like when she gets off the island, you would have guessed that would happen. So I give this book 7 out of 10 exceptional but not great but you won't be disappointed.
McKinley Y.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is a book about a girl named Karana that lives on an island then her tribe moves away and she gets left behind on the island and how she survives for years alone. I think this book is exiting and good for anyone how likes adventure. The author is descriptive and makes you feel like you are there. The author also has sad parts but then does something happy happens and makes you feel better. I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure and books where you see how someone survives on their own. Over all I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
read this book 2008-02-22
We are a group of third grade students and we have read the book Island of the Blue Dolphins. The boys in our group would give this book 4 ½ stars and the girls would give it 5 stars. The boys would give it a 4 ½ because of the slowness at the beginning and because of the sadness throughout the book because most of the people die. Overall, though, the boys say it's a good book. The girls give it a 5 because it's sad and exciting at the same time. The main character is a girl and in many other books the main character is a boy.
This is a book about a girl named Karana and her survival by herself on an island.
It is based on a true story that happened in the mid 1800's.
If you like animals, then we recommend that you read this book because it has a lot of animals in it. The beginning is kind of slow and a little bit sad but the book does become exciting. In this book, a lot of characters die, but that shouldn't be too scary to people unless they're under the age of eight or nine. If you don't like really sad books, this may not be the best pick, but it's a really good book in part because Karana leaves her fears behind and goes on with her life in an exciting, inspiring way.
IOBD STINKS! 
2008-02-07
This book is a teachers' pet, meaning every teacher makes kids read it. The book has good material, but there is no storyline, it's just random events that don't lead up to anything. Karana shows no emotion even tough everything around her dies or leaves her.
SPOILER ALERT!!!:::
Ending is horrible because Karana leaves the island, which is just dumb.
Stay away from this book.
