Island of the Blue Dolphins

Karana, a young Nicoleño girl, lives on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California during the early nineteenth century. When her people flee the island to escape invading Aleut hunters and Russian fur traders, Karana jumps overboard to stay with her brother. After he is killed by a pack of feral dogs, she remains alone for eighteen years. She constructs a whalebone fence, crafts hunting spears against tribal tradition, tames a lead dog named Rontu, and builds a permanent home from salvaged materials while observing the seasonal migration of sea otters and birds.

Young readers find an example of practical self-reliance and environmental observation in this account of extreme isolation. The book offers a technical look at survival, detail by detail, showing how an individual creates clothing, tools, and shelter from found natural resources. It appeals to those fascinated by historical lost civilizations and the relationship between a person and a specific landscape. A person finishes this story with a factual understanding of how loneliness and physical labor shape a human life over decades.

Clear-cut; an easy read.

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