“
More than anything, it was the blue dolphins that took me back home.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Below me Rontu was running along the cliffs barking at the screaming gulls. Pelicans were chattering as they finished the blue water. But suddenly I thought of Tutok, and the island seemed very quiet.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Now, suddenly, I was the kind of girl who felt true physical pain when asked to put down a book at the dinner table, who asked friends over and ignored them to finish Island of the Blue Dolphins for the fifth time.
”
”
Lizzie Skurnick (Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading)
“
They were black like a lizard's and very large and, like the eyes of a lizard, could sometimes look sleepy.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
:...For animals and birds are like people, too, though they do not talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.
”
”
Scott O'Dell
“
For a long time I called it Otter as I had called Rontu, Dog. Then I decided to give the otter a name. The name was Mon-a-nee, which means Little Boy with Large Eyes.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter. I had an otter cape for my shoulders, which I used until it wore out, but never again did I make a new one. Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers, though they have long, think necks and make ugly sounds when they talk to each other. Nor did I kill seals for their sinews, using instead kelp to bind the things that needed it. Nor did I kill another wild dog, nor did I try to speak another sea elephant.
Ulape would have laughed at me, and other would have laughed, too -- my father most of all. Yet this is the way I felt about the animals who had become my friends and those who were not, bu in time could be. If Ulape and my father had come back and laughed, and all the other had come back and laughed, still I would have felt the same way, for animals and birds are like people, too, though they do no talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
The morning was fresh from the rain. The smell of the tide pools was strong. Sweet odors came from the wild grasses in the ravines and from the sand plants on the dunes. I sang as I went down the trail to the beach and along the beach to the sandspit. I felt that the day was an omen of good fortune. It was a good day to begin my new home.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Many of our tribe went to the cliff each night to count the number killed during the day. They counted the dead otter and thought of the beads and other things that each pelt meant. But I never went to the cove and whenever I saw the hunters with their long spears skimming over the water, I was angry, for these animals were my friends. It was fun to see them playing or sunning themselves among the kelp. It more fun than the thought of beads to wear around my neck.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
My brother Ramo was only a little boy half my age, which was twelve. He was small for one who had lived so many suns and moons, but quick as a cricket.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Everyone in our tribe had two names, the real one which was secret and was seldom used, and one which was common, for if people use your secret name it becomes worn out and loses its magic.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
benevolence once they have nudged against you and invited your aff ection with their smooth, glistening smiles. Rereading Island of the Blue Dolphins, I could
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
It was a hard task catching fish every day, especially if the wind was blowing and the waves were high. Once when I could catch only two and dropped them into the pool, Mon-a-nee ate them quickly and waited for more. When he found that was all I had he swam around in circles, looking at me reproachfully. The
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Brian’s Hunt by Gary Paulsen Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis The Call of the Wild by Jack London The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury The Giver by Lois Lowry Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Hatchet by Gary Paulsen The High King (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Holes by Louis Sachar The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins I Am LeBron James by Grace Norwich I Am Stephen Curry by Jon Fishman Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson LeBron’s Dream Team: How Five Friends Made History by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle Number the Stars by Lois Lowry The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton The River by Gary Paulsen The Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (written by many authors) Star Wars series (written by many authors) The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess (Dork Diaries) by Rachel Renée Russell Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
”
”
Andrew Clements (The Losers Club)
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
animals and birds are like people, too, though they do not talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
The name I thought of was Rontu, which means in our language Fox Eyes.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Our island is two leagues long and one league wide, and if you were standing on one of the hills that rise in the middle of it, you would think that it looked like a fish. Like a dolphin lying on its side, with its tail pointing toward the sunrise, its nose pointing to the sunset, and its fins making reefs and the rocky ledges along the shore. Whether someone did stand there on the low hills in the days when the earth was new and, because of its shape, called it the Island of the Blue Dolphins, I do not know.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
I REMEMBER the day the Aleut ship came to our island. At first it seemed like a small shell afloat on the sea. Then it grew larger and was a gull with folded wings. At last in the rising sun it became what it really was—a red ship with two red sails. My brother and I had gone to the head of a canyon that winds down to a little harbor which is called Coral Cove. We had gone to gather roots that grow there in the spring. My brother Ramo was only a little boy half my age, which was twelve. He was small for one who had lived so many suns and moons, but quick as a cricket. Also foolish as a cricket when he was excited. For this reason and because I wanted him to help me gather roots and not go running off, I said nothing about the shell I saw or the gull with folded wings. I went on digging in the brush with my pointed stick as though nothing at all were happening on the sea. Even when I knew for sure that the gull was a ship with two red sails. But Ramo’s eyes missed little in the world. They were black like a lizard’s and very large and, like the eyes of a lizard, could sometimes look sleepy. This was the time when they saw the most. This was the way they looked now. They were half-closed, like those of a lizard lying on a rock about to flick out its tongue to catch a fly. “The sea is smooth,” Ramo said. “It is a flat stone without any scratches.” My brother liked to pretend that one thing was another. “The sea is not a stone without scratches,” I said. “It is water and no waves.” “To me it is a blue stone,” he said. “And far away on the edge of it is a small cloud which sits on the stone.” “Clouds do not sit on stones. On blue ones or black ones or any kind of stones.” “This one does.” “Not on the sea,” I said. “Dolphins sit there, and gulls, and cormorants, and otter, and whales too, but not clouds.” “It is a whale, maybe.” Ramo was standing on one foot and then the other, watching the ship coming, which he did not know was a ship because he had never seen one. I had never seen one either, but I knew how they looked because I had been told. “While you gaze at the sea,” I said, “I dig roots. And it is I who will eat them and you who will not.” Ramo began to punch at the earth with his stick, but as the ship came closer, its sails showing red through the morning mist, he kept watching it, acting all the time as if he were not. “Have you ever seen a red whale?” he asked. “Yes,” I said, though I never had. “Those I have seen are gray.” “You are very young and have not seen everything that swims in the world.” Ramo picked up a root and was about to drop it into the basket. Suddenly his mouth opened wide and then closed again. “A canoe!” he cried. “A great one, bigger than all of our canoes together. And red!” A canoe or a ship, it did not matter to Ramo. In the very next breath he tossed the root in the air and was gone, crashing through the brush, shouting as he went. I kept on gathering roots, but my hands trembled as I dug in the earth, for I was more excited than my brother. I knew that it was a ship there on the
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Our island is two leagues long and one league wide, and if you were standing on one of the hills that rise in the middle of it, you would think that it looked like a fish. Like a dolphin lying on its side, with its tail pointing toward the sunrise, its nose pointing to the sunset, and its fins making reefs and the rocky ledges along the shore. Whether someone did stand there on the low hills in the days when the earth was new and, because of its shape, called it the Island of the Blue Dolphins,
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
He spoke again, slowly this time, and though his words sounded the same as before and meant nothing to me, they now seemed sweet. They were the sound of a human voice. There is no sound like this in all the world.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
The Island of the Blue Dolphins was my home; I had no other. It would be my home until the white men returned in their ship. But even if they came soon, before next summer, I could not live without a roof or a place to store my food.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Would the weapons break in my hands at the moment when my life was in danger, which is what my father had said? I thought about these things for two days and on the third night when the wild dogs returned to the rock, I made up my mind that no matter what befell me I would make the weapons. In the morning I set about it, though I felt very fearful.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.
”
”
S.E Hinton (Summer Reading Books Grade 7 & 8: The Outsiders; War of the Worlds; the Pigman; the Black Pearl; Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Here were Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, A Wrinkle in Time, The Outsiders, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Gone with the Wind, Wuthering Heights. And over here Anne of Green Gables, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Pride and Prejudice, Island of the Blue Dolphins.
”
”
Sam Reaves (Cold Black Earth)
“
Aegean Islands 1940-41
Where white stares, smokes or breaks,
Thread white, white of plaster and of foam,
Where sea like a wall falls;
Ribbed, lionish coast,
The stony islands which blow into my mind
More often than I imagine my grassy home;
To sun one's bones beside the
Explosive, crushed-blue, nostril-opening sea
(The weaving sea, splintered with sails and foam,
Familiar of famous and deserted harbours,
Of coins with dolphins on and fallen pillars.)
To know the gear and skill of sailing,
The drenching race for home and the sail-white houses,
Stories of Turks and smoky ikons,
Cry of the bagpipe, treading
Of the peasant dancers;
The dark bread
The island wine and the sweet dishes;
All these were elements in a happiness
More distant now than any date like '40,
A. D. or B. C., ever can express.
”
”
Bernard Spencer
“
Or take the heart. It was ruby red and midnight blue, a creature from the sea, a sightless fish that heard everything, vibrated to sad movies and disappointed lovers, and sent its messages in flowing movement, undulating from its core. And the whole uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries were one continent with a long string of islands on either side book-ended by volcanoes that erupted with a glistening egg each month in an unerringly egalitarian manner, one volcano never taking two turns in a row, a perfect Ping-Pong game across the continent. Tess knew the inside of her body, or anyone’s body, but hers in particular. The green rectangle had set up shop, had slipped in under cover of darkness. Had a switch been flipped somewhere else in the thin dolphin glands or the round star-shaped glands? She was sixty-eight. Was this going to be all she had? She
”
”
Jacqueline Sheehan (Lost & Found)
“
An' you can shut your trap, Johnny Cade, 'cause we all know you ain't wanted at home, either. And you can't blame them
”
”
S.E Hinton (Summer Reading Books Grade 7 & 8: The Outsiders; War of the Worlds; the Pigman; the Black Pearl; Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
We break off into the streets, repairing the cobblestones with our brisk allegro. The townsfolk step aside in awe as my allongés stitch the pastel wood back into cottages and storefronts. Flowers grow from my quick bourrée steps, breathing life back into Luna Island in shades of pink and purple. Rainbows rise from the sea with my grand jeté, summoning the dolphins to leap alongside our dance. Damien catches me in his arms before lifting me into the air as I paint the sky bright blue.
We laugh as the beauty of Luna Island blooms once again, running into the forest and turning the ash into lush green trees. Color bursts in the darkness as we chassé through the angels' village and past the glade where our story first began. With my pirouettes, I add extra pink petals to the garden where Damien and I once lay.
I break into a series of chaîné turns as we make our way back down to the beach, unleashing the magic Luna bestowed upon me. The townsfolk watch in awe in the midst of the commotion, and I dust them in a veil of starlight that follows my path, healing bruises and stitching wounds until no one bleeds. They gather around me as I finish my dance, thrumming with applause and tossing the freshly spun flowers at my feet.
”
”
Kiana Krystle (Dance of the Starlit Sea)
“
One, because he was larger, I called Tainor. I named him after a young man I liked who had been killed by the Aleuts. The other was called Lurai, which was a name I wished I had been called instead of Karana.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
I came to the mound where my ancestors had sometimes camped in the summer. I thought of them and of the happy times spent in my house on the headland, of my canoe lying unfinished beside the trail. I thought of many things, but stronger was the wish to be where people lived, to hear their voices and their laughter.
”
”
Travis Frank (History of California: The Lone Woman of Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
Dolphins are animals of good omen. It made me happy to have them swimming around the canoe, and though my hands had begun to bleed from the chafing of the paddle, just watching them made me forget the pain. I was very lonely before they appeared, but now I felt that I had friends with me and did not feel the same.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
THE WIND BLEW strong
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
At that moment I walked across the deck and, though many hands tried to hold me back, flung myself into the sea.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
All night I sat there with the body of my brother and did not sleep. I vowed that someday I would go back and kill the wild dogs in the cave. I would kill all of them. I thought of how I would do it, but mostly I thought of Ramo, my brother.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
... the sound of a human voice.
There is no sound like this in all the world
”
”
—Scott O’Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins
“
happened once in a long time, it was
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
The morning was fresh from the rain. The smell of the tide pools was strong. Sweet odors came from the wild grasses in the ravines and from the sand plants on the dunes. I sang as I went down the trail to the beach and along the beach to the sandspit. I felt that the day was an omen of good fortune.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
I always dreamed of eating my meals out of coconuts. I may have seen too many Jungle Jim movies as a kid perhaps, but there was also that one desert island book which ruined me forever: Island of the Blue Dolphins, a wonderful
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”
Eileen Kay (Noodle Trails, A Travel Memoir: Fair Trade, Dung Trade, and Travels in Thailand and beyond (Noodle Trails #1))
Jenny Oldfield (Lost at Sea (Dolphin Island, #2))
“
Stay Gold Ponyboy...Stay Gold
”
”
S.E Hinton (Summer Reading Books Grade 7 & 8: The Outsiders; War of the Worlds; the Pigman; the Black Pearl; Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
In the middle of the summer scorching heat
Let the clouds above gather around me
Cover me in the dark cool shade
Leave me sitting on a bench looking out
Far away at St Catherine’s breakwater
Turquoise blue waters flat calm under the horizon
Above in the distance shimmers the coastline of France
Between the sky and the ocean
Here I am longing to be there
The sunsets at St Ouens Bay are pretty
Many times of the year
People horse riding, windsurfing
And taking dogs for a walk
Rays of sunshine burst through the clouds
The dolphins are playing as I watch
And the seagulls glide high up in the sky
Here am I long to be there
The boathouse is still the same
Even when the tide has gone out
A time for an afternoon glass of wine
Elegant woman wearing shades
Hiding her beautiful eyes from the world
Her sparkling earrings droop freely
Hanging in the soft spring air
Here am I long to be there
The island calls me and beckons me to come
The winter was so slow painful and dark
Now spring has arrived there is magic in the air
My heart and souls feels lighter now
Seeing yellow daffodils swaying in the park
There is new energy a new life to embrace
The island of Jersey calls me through the air
I am looking forward to being there
In all my travels and all that I have seen
It is the only place I have come to call home
”
”
Kenan Hudaverdi
“
on one of the hills that rise in the middle of it, you would think that it looked like a fish. Like a dolphin lying on its side, with its tail pointing toward the sunrise, its nose pointing to the sunset, and its fins making reefs and the rocky ledges along the shore. Whether someone did stand there on the low hills in the days when the earth was new and, because of its shape, called it the Island of the Blue Dolphins, I
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
omen of good fortune. It was a good day to begin my new home.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
On the third day the rain ceased and I went out to look for things which I would need in building the house. I likewise needed poles for a fence. I would soon kill the wild dogs, but there were many small red foxes on the island. They were so numerous that I could never hope to get rid of them either by traps or with arrows. They were clever thieves and nothing I stored would be safe until I had built a fence. The morning was fresh from the rain. The smell of the tide pools was strong. Sweet odors came from the wild grasses in the ravines and from the sand plants on the dunes. I sang as I went down the trail to the beach and along the beach to the sandspit. I felt that the day was an omen of good fortune. It
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
In a hidden paradise where bountiful leaves danced with the emerald waves, a young woman epitomized the very spirit of femininity, radiating a serenity that mirrored the enchanting landscape surrounding her. This secluded island, a precious jewel far removed from the turmoil of the outside world, a realm where nature thrived in its most exquisite form.
Each day, she wandered through the vibrant, verdant jungle, her heart alive with the symphony of chirping birds and the gentle rustle of leaves stirred by the soft caress of the breeze. The air was rich with the heady fragrance of blooming blossoms, and golden sunlight streamed through the lush canopy, casting a delicate mosaic of light and shadow upon the jungle floor. In this ethereal haven, she felt an intimate connection to the Earth, as if the very essence of nature cradled her in a loving embrace.
The ocean, a breathtaking canvas of swirling blues and greens, held its own kind of magic. Majestic whales glided gracefully beneath the surface, their haunting songs weaving tales of the ocean's deepest secrets. Wise turtles ambled across the sunkissed sands, while playful dolphins frolicked in the waves, their joyous leaps celebrating the boundless freedom of life in harmony with nature.
As the sun descended beyond the horizon, splashing the sky with vibrant shades of blazing red, gleaming gold, delicate pink and lavender, she often found herself standing at the water's edge, captivated by the breathtaking beauty that surrounded her. The gentle lullaby of the ocean, entwined with the whispers of the jungle, created a symphony of serenity that enveloped her, allowing her thoughts to drift like clouds in the vast sky above.
In this tranquil paradise, time seemed to stand still, each moment stretching into eternity like a cherished memory. The island's mysteries slowly unfolded, revealing hidden waterfalls that sparkled like diamonds, secret groves filled with the sweet scent of jasmine and plumeria, and breathtaking vistas that stole her breath away. It was a realm of endless wonder, where every corner held a new discovery, each more enchanting than the last.
Here, in the heart of the Pacific she uncovered her true self ~ a reflectiocn of the beauty that surrounded her. In this harmonious environment, she felt eternally at peace, wrapped in the loving arms of nature and the island's enchanting magic. Each day became a celebration of romance and life, a poignant reminder that the greatest treasures lie not in material possessions but in the simple joys of existence, the deep connections forged with the world around her, and the profound serenity of being truly alive, where love blooms in every heartbeat and every breath...
”
”
Kaia Emerald
“
My father was one of these.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)
“
This is the way I felt about the animals who had become my friends and those who were not, but in time could be...for animals and birds are like people too, though they do not talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.
”
”
Scott O'Dell (Island of the Blue Dolphins)