Island of the Blue Dolphins - wikipedia Island of the Blue Dolphins → Island of the Blue Dolphins First edition Author Scott O'Dell Cover artist Evaline Ness Country United States Language English Genre Children 's novel Publisher Houghton Mifflin Publication date 1960 Media type Print ( hardcover & paperback ) ; Audiobook Pages 194 pp ISBN 0 - 395 - 06962 - 9 OCLC 225474 Followed by Zia Island of the Blue Dolphins is a 1960 children 's novel written by Scott O'Dell and tells the story of a 12 - year - old girl stranded alone for years on an island off the California coast. It is based on the true story of a Nicoleño Native American left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island during the 19th century. Island of the Blue Dolphins won the Newbery Medal in 1961. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1964. O'Dell later wrote a sequel, Zia, published in 1976. The 50th Anniversary edition of Island of the Blue Dolphins includes a new introduction by Newbery Medalist Lois Lowry and also includes extracts from Father Gonzales Rubio in the Santa Barbara Mission 's Book of Burials. Island of the Blue Dolphins : The Complete Reader 's Edition, a critical edition edited by Sara L. Schwebel, was published in October 2016 by the University of California Press. It includes two chapters deleted from the book before publication. Contents 1 Historical basis 2 Plot summary 3 Film adaptation 4 References 5 External links Historical basis This novel is based on the true story of `` The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, '' a Nicoleño Native Californian left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island, one of the Channel Islands off the California coast, before being discovered and taken to the mainland in 1853 by sea otter hunter George Nidever and his crew. She is on record under the Christian name Juana Maria, assigned to her by the Santa Barbara Mission where she eventually was brought. According to Nidever, the Lone Woman lived in a structure supported by whale ribs and stashed useful objects around the island. In 2009, University of Oregon archaeologist Jon Erlandson found two old redwood boxes eroding from an island sea cliff, with a whale bone placed on top of them. With colleagues René Vellanoweth, Lisa Barnett - Thomas, and Troy Davis, Erlandson salvaged the boxes and other artifacts before they were destroyed by erosion. Vellanoweth and Barnett - Thomas later excavated the interior of the boxes in a San Nicolas Island laboratory and documented nearly 200 artifacts of Nicoleño, Euro - American, and Native Alaskan manufacture. The boxes appear to have been cached intentionally some time between 1815 and 1853, quite possibly by Juana Maria herself. It was also believed the Lone Woman lived in a cave on the island. In 2012, Naval archaeologist Steve Schwartz believed he discovered the buried location of that cave and began an investigation, working with archaeologist René Vellanoweth and his students from California State University, Los Angeles. Commanders at the Navy base on the island about 65 miles southwest of Point Mugu ordered Schwartz to halt the dig in 2015. Plot summary The main character is a Native American girl named Karana. Her secret name is Won - a-pa - lei She has a brother named Ramo, whose curiosity usually leads to trouble, and a sister named Ulape. Her people live in a village called Ghalas - at and the tribe survives by means of gathering roots and fishing. One day, a ship of Russian fur hunters and Aleut people led by Captain Orlov arrive and persuade the natives to let them hunt sea otter in exchange for other goods. However, the Russians attempt to swindle the islanders and leave without paying. When they are confronted by Karana 's father Chief Chowig, a battle breaks out. The tribe is reduced with Karana 's father and many other men in the tribe dying in battle against the well - armed Russians who escape largely unscathed. Later, the `` replacement chief '' Chief Kimki leaves the island on a canoe for new land in the East. Eventually, he sends a `` giant canoe '' to bring his people to the mainland even though he himself does not return. The white men who are missionaries come to Karana 's village and tell them to pack their goods and go to the ship. Karana 's brother Ramo misses the ship to retrieve his fishing spear. Although Karana urges the captain to wait for Ramo to return, the ship must leave before a storm approaches. Despite restraint, Karana jumps off the ship and swims to shore and the ship departs without them. The siblings live alone on the island, hoping the ship will return. However, Ramo is brutally killed by a pack of feral dogs. Alone on the island, Karana takes on traditionally male tasks, such as hunting, making spears, and building canoes to survive. She vows to avenge her brother 's death and kills several of the dogs, but has a change of heart when she encounters the leader of the pack. She tames him and names him Rontu ( meaning `` Fox Eyes '' in her language ). Over time, Karana makes a life for herself. She builds a home made of whale bones and stocks a cave with provisions in case the Aleuts come back, so she can hide from them. As she explores her island, Karana discovers ancient artifacts and a large squid ( which she calls a devilfish ). As time passes, she decides to hunt the devilfish. She also tames some birds and an otter while feeling a close kinship to the animals ( the only inhabitants of the island beside herself ). One summer, the Aleuts return and Karana takes refuge in the cave. She observes the Aleuts closely and realizes that a girl named Tutok takes care of the domestic duties including getting water from the pool near Karana 's cave. Fearful of being discovered, Karana goes out only at night, yet the curious girl stalks Karana and the two meet. Karana and Tutok meet several days in a row. However, when she lets Rontu out with her, Tutok calls him hers. Karana and Tutok exchange gifts, and she realizes how lonely she 's been. Karana wishes that Tutok would not leave, yet the next day when Karana makes food for her she does n't come. Karana goes searching and sees the ship departing. Sadly, she returns to her house and starts rebuilding. More time passes and Rontu dies. Karana soon finds a young dog that looks like Rontu and takes him in naming him Rontu - Aru ( meaning `` Son of Rontu '' ). One day, Karana sees the sails of a ship. It docks at the shore, but then leaves. Two years later in the spring, the boat comes back, so Karana dresses in her finest attire and goes to the shore to meet the boat. Her rescuers see that her dress made of cormorant feathers is not appropriate for the mainland and they have a dress made for her. She does not like the dress, but Karana realizes that it is part of her new life. The ship takes Karana and Rontu - Aru to the mission in Santa Barbara, California. There, she finds out that the ship that had taken her people away had sunk, before it could return from the mainland for her. Film adaptation Main article : Island of the Blue Dolphins ( film ) A film adaptation of Island of the Blue Dolphins was released on July 3, 1964. It was directed by James B. Clark and starred Celia Kaye as Karana. Jane Klove and Ted Sherdeman adapted the script from O'Dell's novel, and the film was produced by Robert B. Radnitz and Universal Pictures. The film was made on a slight budget but did receive a wide release three months after its New York premiere. The New York Times 's Howard Thompson gave the film a rather condescending review upon its release, saying it was strictly a children 's film. However, Kaye won a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for her performance. The film earned an estimated $2 million in rentals in North America. References ^ Jump up to : Island of the Blue Dolphins. ISBNdb ( 2009 ). Retrieved 2009 - 08 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Island of the Blue Dolphins : The Complete Reader 's Edition : Scott O'Dell, Sara L. Schwebel ''. Amazon.com. October 4, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016. Jump up ^ Erlandson, Jon M., Lisa Thomas - Barnett, René L. Vellanoweth, Steven J. Schwartz, & Daniel R. Muhs. 2013. From the Island of the Blue Dolphins : a unique 19th century cache feature from San Nicolas Island, California. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 8 : 66 - 78. Jump up ^ Chawkins, Steve ( October 30, 2012 ). `` ' Island of the Blue Dolphins ' woman 's cave believed found ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ `` ' Island of Blue Dolphins ' cave possibly found -- Secret History -- Sott.net ''. SOTT.net. Jump up ^ Sahagun, Louis ( March 5, 2015 ). `` With island dig halted, Lone Woman still a stinging mystery ''. Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ `` Island of the Blue Dolphins ''. Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 15. Jump up ^ Thompson, Howard ( July 4, 1964 ). `` Island of the Blue Dolphins ( 1964 ) '' ( Review ). The New York Times. Retrieved 2010 - 06 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Movie Review - Island of the Blue Dolphins - Island of Blue Dolphins ' Has Premiere - NYTimes.com ''. Jump up ^ `` Celia Kaye ''. imdb.com. Jump up ^ `` Big Rental Pictures of 1964 '', Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross. External links Island of the Blue Dolphins on IMDb Island of the Blue Dolphins at the TCM Movie Database Awards Preceded by Onion John Newbery Medal recipient 1961 Succeeded by The Bronze Bow Preceded by The Helen Keller Story Winner of the William Allen White Children 's Book Award 1963 Succeeded by The Incredible Journey ( ( Category : 1960 money Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Island_of_the_Blue_Dolphins&oldid=837952426 '' Categories : 1960 American novels American children 's novels American novels adapted into films Books about Native Americans Children 's historical novels Channel Islands of California Chumash people Historical novels History of Ventura County, California Houghton Mifflin books Newbery Medal - winning works Novels about survival Novels set in California Novels set in the 19th century Novels set on islands Solitude in fiction Hidden categories : Pages to import images to Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Română Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 24 April 2018, at 01 : 04. 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Question: how long did karana live on the island alone
Answer: years