Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life. - From library catalog record

I read this book for a Children's Literature book group. It is the 1961 Newbery Medal winner and I've known about it forever, but never taken the time to read it. It is a well-written survival tale based on the true story of the "Lost Woman of San Nicolas." Definitely worth reading if you never have...

Part of starred review from School Library Journal:
A haunting and unusual story based on the fact that in the early 1800s an Indian girl spent 18 years alone on a rocky island far off the coast of California . . . A quiet acceptance of fate characterizes her ordeal. ( )

First Line: I remember the day the Aleut ship came to our island.

I'm not quite sure how I missed this one growing up. With a 1960 copyright date, it was certainly around when I was young, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle, and I never read it. I've now corrected that oversight, and I'm glad I did.

In the Pacific Ocean, there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Blue dolphins, sea elephants, birds, otters... wildlife is abundant there. When the strangers come in their red-sailed ship, Karana's father reluctantly gives them permission to fish and to hunt for otters in their waters, but their hunting comes to a bad end. Not long afterward, a ship comes for Karana's people, and they gather their belongings and climb aboard. When Karana sees that her little brother is left behind on the island, she jumps ship and swims back.

Unfortunately Karana soon finds herself all alone on the island. She spends year after year there, but this isn't a tale merely of survival, it's a story of a girl who truly appreciates the natural world surrounding her. My eyes were riveted to the page as she built herself shelter, a canoe, fought off wild dogs, and explored the island. An author's note in the back told me that this story was based on fact, and that explanation made the book even more special.

I can see why this book is a Newbery Medal winner. Island of the Blue Dolphins has a wonderful setting and a character into whom we can all project ourselves. It wasn't just Karana building a shelter or trying to outsmart the wild dogs-- I was, too. When I finished the last page, I had to sit quietly and let the sea breeze calm and the vision of a fish-shaped island sunning itself in the sea quietly fade away. ( )

The story is about a yound native american who is abandoned on a remote island with her brother to fend for themselves. It teaches us that as humans we can overcome all the challenges that are presented to us. This story reminded me of the movie "Castaway" with Tom Hanks but the main character is a girl with many skills in place from her tibe to help her survive. ( )

Island of the Blue Dolphins was a very inspirational book. It was about a girl who gets left by her family and eventually is stranded on an island by herself. Throughout the story, she builds a relationship with an island animal and learns to live on her own and fight off any danger. This book teaches a valuable lesson about learning to improvise, being fearless and most of all, being grateful for what you have. I really enjoyed this book and would suggest this to anyone who enjoys reading intense books.

This book is about a young Indian girl who is left on a Island. She gets trapped on the island after jumping ship to safe her brother, who got left on the island. They share many adventures in the book on the island.