Scott O'Dell

A tribute to Scott O'Dell, author of Island of the Blue Dolphins, Sing Down the Moon, The Black Pearl, and many other outstanding novels for children.

By Linda Jo Martin

I don't remember how old I was when I got my first Scott O'Dell book, but I remember who I got it from - my mother. She knew I loved to read and always remembered to buy a good book for me whenever there was an occasion to do so. I'm guessing - but I may have been around eleven at the time.

She bought a hardcover version of Island of the Blue Dolphins - a book I loved so much at the time I read it more than once. I treasured that book so much that now, forty years later, I still have that copy of the book on my shelves. It is one of the few books that survived my childhood and the many, many moves I've made since then.

The haunting, memorable story of a woman left alone on an island for about twenty years after trying to save her younger brother stayed with me and has been lodged in my heart all my life since then. I am moved to tears, remembering how much this book meant to me. It showed me how I, as a woman, can be strong and self-sufficient, and get through anything that might come my way.

Years later while I was homeschooling my two youngest children I decided to read Newbery Medal winning novels to them. One of the first I read was the book I had on my shelf, Island of the Blue Dolphins. They loved it too.

After that I read them Sing Down the Moon, an exciting book about the relocation of the Navajo in New Mexico during 1863. I'd read it before during a children's literature class I took in college in the seventies, right after it was published and named a Newbery Honor Book. My children liked that book so much they didn't want me to stop reading. I remember staying up late as they listened intently, reading so many chapters at a time we finished the novel in just a few days.

After reading those two book to the kids I decided to read one on my own, and chose The Blue Pearl. It is much shorter than the other novels and set in a more contemporary time. Those are the only Scott O'Dell books I've read so far. I expect I'll be reading more of them in future years.

When I decided to write tributes to some of my favorite children's authors, Scott O'Dell was the first I thought of. He will always be first in my mind when I think of the great writers of children's literature.

A few links:
Scott O'Dell: A comprehensive website
Scott O'Dell Award For Historical Fiction
Elizabeth Hall, the wife of Scott O'Dell