Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell, is one of my favorite books from my childhood. The story was introduced to me in third grade by my teacher. The children’s novel features a strong female lead and Native American culture.The historical fiction story is about an island native girl, Karana, and her story.

In the beginning of the children’s novel a group of Russian hunters invading the island. The island natives made an agreement with the hunters, but the Russians didn’t hold up their end of the deal. This causes a fight to break out amongst the natives and the foreigners. The aftermath of the battle doesn’t end well for the natives. This causes an elder to make the decision for the people to leave the island and head for the mainland. As the island natives rush to leave on a boat Karana’s brother gets left behind. In an act of bravery Karana jumps out of the boat and swims back to the island the accompany her brother. The siblings are left alone on the island. Her brother goes down to the canoes the next morning, but he doesn’t make it. A pack of wild dogs gets him. Karana is left alone and stranded on the island.This story actually happened. A girl was left on an island. How did she survive?