Island of the Blue Dolphins

Have you ever imagined being stranded on a deserted island? How would you survive? What would you do?  How would you handle it? Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell tells the story of a young girl who becomes left on her island after the village leaves, and how she survives and lives. 

Karana's village experiences heartache when hunters from the north of their island, the Aleuts, come to hunt otters on their island. When the Aleuts leave, a confrontation happens, and in the end, many of the men of the village are killed. The new chief leaves to find a better place for his people, and soon a boat arrives to take the people of the village away. Karana is on the boat when she discovers that her younger brother did not make it on the ship in time, and she dives into the water to go back for him. 

They begin to live on the island hoping that the boat will soon return for them, but not long after the boat leaves, her younger brother is killed by the pack of wild dogs that lives on the island. Karana is left by herself, and she begins to create a life for herself, alone on the island. She survives a canoe trip in a canoe that sprung a leak, as well as made a new home for herself, and even created her own weapons. She defied many of the customs of her culture as she chooses which is more important, her safety or the culture that she came from. The story tells the important memories or parts of her life as she lives on her island alone, and she grows up. She goes from hoping everyday to be rescued to never thinking about it happening again. Eventually she is rescued and discovers that her people never came back for her because they ship had sunk and no one knew that she was on the island alone. 

This book has won the John Newbery Medal for good reason. It was a well written book that tells the life of Karana with beauty and eloquence without romanticizing her life. It is told in the first person and it tells it as if she was telling the story to you. 

I first read this book when I was in 5th grade, and this would be the grade that I would recommend the book for. One thing I would do as a teacher is go over some of the vocabulary that is used in the book that is particular to Native American cultures. I remember when I read it I didn't understand that "moons" meant "months" and "suns" meant "days." Even as I was reading it again, it took me a while to understand that when she was talking about a "devil fish" that she was talking about an octopus. So it would be good to discuss these vocabulary words with your students.

This story is inspired by a true story, so this is also another aspect that you can discuss with your students, among many other projects that students can do along with this book. 

When looking for a definition of what the devil fish was in the book, I found this video and think it's a great lesson plan idea to have students do to connect with book more. 

Tuck Everlasting

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to live forever? To never die, even from a gun shot or a branch falling and crushing your body? In the story Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, the Tuck family will live forever. 

The story revolves around a little girl named Winnie Foster who is tired of living her cottage home.  She is an only child and she feels suffocated being stuck with her mother and grandmother all day.She desires to do something that "would make some difference in the world."  One morning she decides to explore the woods her family owns and discovers on her a walk a 17 year old boy, Jesse Tuck, sitting against a giant tree reading a book. She sees him drink some water from a very hidden spring. That's when the story begins. She asks him for some water, but he refuses to allow her to have some. At that moment, Jesse's mother, Mae Tuck, and brother, Miles Tuck, appear and in a frenzy take Winnie with them so they can explain why she can't drink from the water or tell anyone about the spring. 

Winnie is basically kidnapped by Jesse, Miles, and Mae. They soon explain  their story, and then continue to take her home with them to explain why she mustn't tell anyone about the spring. They explain how bad the world would be if no one ever died and the struggles that they experience not aging. 

Due to several turn of events the following day, Mae is taken to jail. Winnie is the only person who can save her, and she decides to make a difference in someones world. 

This story has some interesting topics students can discuss. Such as, what would it be like to live forever. What the consequences might be, and why it's good that we don't. Students can also see that no matter the age, (Winnie was 10), you can find a way to make a difference in someones world. It's very important for kids to start realizing that they are part of a community and that they can make a change in the world. 

This book is well written with very good imagery. It is easy to visualize where it all happens, and the story is written in  a way that nothing seems not needed or nonsensical. This story will be considered a classic for decades to come. 

Anne of Green Gables

The story of Anne of Green Gables is a classic and one that is loved by many. I grew up as a child reading the abridged version and watching the movies with my family. I think it's almost impossible not to fall in love with this story.  

Anne of Green Gables tells the story of bother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert who decide to adopt a boy to help Matthew on the farm. Through an interesting mistake, Anne Shirley is sent instead. Despite that fact that she's a girl, they decide to keep her, and their life instantly becomes more interesting and exciting than they ever thought possible. Anne is imaginative, impulsive, loquacious, and totally unique. Readers can't help but fall in love with her as they watch her go through different blunders and trials. 

Some of my favorite parts of the story include Anne's first encounter with Gilbert Blythe. Anne always had a stigma against her red hair, and during her first day of class, Gilbert while attempting to get her attention called her Carrots and pulled on one of her braids. Without a second thought, she jumped up and slammed her slate across his head. From that day on until the end of the book, she vowed to never speak to him or even of him again. 

Another favorite part was when Anne accidentally dyed her hair green in an attempt to dye it black. It was the worst color ever and in the end she had to chop most of her hair off. After the incident though, she found that she loved having red hair rather than green, and it cured of some of her vanity. 

This novel is a wonderful book for girls in middle school to read, or as a story to be read to younger girls. The story of Anne is entertaining and many girl can easily relate to the different experiences Anne goes through, despite the different time periods. Anne shows girls how to deal with different situations, and how to learn from them. 

I love in the unabridged version that you can see how flowery Anne speaks. She describes things in more words than you thought was possible, and you can see how her train of thought changes from one subject to another so quickly. Girls can so easily relate to this because girls love to talk, and we often switch subjects just as quickly as Anne does. 

In the classroom, I would use Anne of Green Gables to inspire students to write about their own blunders or crazy situations that they have managed to get themselves into. I also would do a writing activity where they come up with imaginative stories about a simple place, item, or piece of nature and expand on it, like Anne often does. There's so much to Anne's story, and each chapter tells a mini story. 

There are several books following Anne of Green Gables. This little clip shows just some of the trials Anne experienced, although it features scenes from all of the movies, Anne herself always is some sort of trouble, and these highlight some of the best ones.