His first book for children, Island of the Blue Dolphins , was actually a protest against hunting. Winner of the Newbery Medal, it remains one of the most popular children's books of all time. With that, his career was settled, and he continued to write for young readers. Writing stories you hope children will read is more rewarding than writing for adults. Adults are not good correspondents.
Children ask a lot of questions.
Anthony Trollope, the great English storyteller, said that it was a piece of sticking plaster with which to fasten your pants to a chair. Writing is hard, harder than digging a ditch, and it requires patience. Scott O'Dell lives with his wife Elizabeth in a remote woodland setting in Westchester County, New York. Nature plays a major part in the way he lives from day to day, and he draws heavily on experiences in the natural world. The Spanish Smile took him four months to write.