Chapter Books A to Z: O is for O'Dell

In an earlier post, I talked about one of my all-time favorite books, The Island of the Blue Dolphins. For some reason, I always thought that Scott O'Dell was somewhat of a one-hit wonder with that book. Apparently, I was wrong. He penned over 30 books, most of which were for the younger audience. They also are all mostly about historical California and Mexico. I guess I was confused because I had never heard of most of his other books.

The one that surprised me the most was a book called Zia. It is the sequel to Island. In it, Karana's niece believes that her aunt is still alive and spearheads the rescue mission. I have not read it, but I did just buy it for my school's library at a used book sale.


O'Dell also won Newbery Honors for his books The King's Fifth; Black Star, Bright Dawn; The Black Pearl; and Sing Down the Moon. I have actually heard of these books, but had no idea they were written by him.


When you find a good author such as him, you need to read as many of his books as you can. So, my to-read list has once again been expanded!

To be taken to more information on Amazon, you can click on the book covers and visit through my Associates links.