Book Review: Island of the Blue Dolphins (Should You Read This Book To Your Daughters?)

I thought a teacher read this book to the class when I was in grade school, but reading it now, I have no memory of the story–and I certainly had no idea how violent this children’s tale was.

Reading it to my daughters, there were a number of passages that made me glance at them to make sure they weren’t horrified. They weren’t, but the books do contain grim, hard details about the brutality of life.

Quick Synopsis Of Island Of The Blue Dolphins

The book, written by Scott O’Dell, follows the life of Karana, a Native American girl who is stranded alone on her village’s island (the Island of the Blue Dolphins), as much of her tribe is slaughtered by Russian fur traders and then, knowing they will not survive long term, the tribe later catches a ride on a ship from their island to the mainland, which is now known to be California.

During the chaos of leaving the island, Karana is stranded and must quickly learn how to survive the hard conditions of the island. It’s based on a true story, the Wikipedia article about it is worth a read.

Is this book appropriate to read to your daughters?

This is a decision that you will have to make, but I believe: yes. (For context, my daughters are currently 10, 8, and 8 years old).

Why do I believe this book that contains brutal scenes of death is appropriate for daughters?

Let me tell you something you already know: real life is full of brutality, and your daughters are going to find out about it one way or another.

Watch my review on YouTube:

I prefer my daughters find out about the many hard facts of life in pages of books that I read to them, where I can talk to them about it, and where there is an example of a hero in the story who, despite enormous challenges, can fight with strength and cleverness and overcome.

In short, I want my daughters to know there really are evil dragons in this world, and that they can escape them and even slay them. I believe it is a great disservice to send your children out into the world unaware of the dark.

Other survivalist books I was reminded of while reading Island of the Blue Dolphins were Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, and Hatchet; the latter of which is a good one to read to your sons, if you want a survival story better suited for boys.