18 Responses to “What the Manolo Is…”
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Manolo!
You have discovered one of my dearest childhood books! Thank you for reminding me of that wonderful story — I hope you enjoy it as well!
Sigh.
JiRaffe.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is currently the ‘read aloud at the supper table book’ at our house. I wonder how close to the abandoned girl’s actual experience the story works out to be. It’s been difficult for me to read; even though she overcomes many obstacles and survives, it’s still very sad. Humans were not meant to be so completely isolated. But it is good for discussion!
Ay, Manolo, one can hardly lament the readings of the children’s books when this category includes wonders such as Antoine de Saint Exupery’s The Little Prince or the Harry Potter books.
Good luck to anyone looking for a copy of Island of the Blue Dolphins around here — it has been assigned as summer reading and the copies are flying off the shelves.
It mortifies me to say I have never read it! I’m adding it to the “to be read” list.
Ah, the Sarah is currently reading Robinson Crusoe for the first time, and wishes she had read it years ago — such as in college, when it was first assigned to the Sarah. The Sarah wishes now to go back in time and hear the college lectures again, since now she would know what the heck was going on.
I agree with Lisa Laree: I haven’t read this book since I was a “children,” but it sits on my shelf with a little dark cloud floating over it. I feel depressed each time I even look at the spine. I don’t remember coming away from it with much hope. The only two—okay, three—books that left me feeling more empty are “On the Beach,” “Ethan Frome” and “The Mill on the Floss.”
Some of the best books are those written for children and young adults. Perhaps it’s because the writers know that their readers still have plenty of room in their hearts. One of the perks of being a teacher is the opportunity to keep abreast of the wonderful literature that is available!
PS–Jenny, I’m with you on your assessment! Have you read “The Giver”?
Ahhh, Manolo, you are in my village. Perhaps we will run into each other. We will, of course, recognize each other by our fabulous footwear.
Kiki Belle: No, I haven’t yet. Are you giving it a thumbs up (tears of joy) or thumbs down (the nadir of depression)?
Jenny, it’s a toss up! My interpretation of the ending resulted in, as you so aptly put it, “tears of joy” while others most definitely viewed it as “the nadir of depression.”
Island of the Blue Dolphins! I haven’t thought about that book since I was a kid and when I read it then, it was all I could think about. Thank you for reminding me about such a beautiful story. It’s time (and probably timely!) for me to read it again.
Huh. I don’t remember it being depressing. And I don’t like depressing stories. But I was, what, 10 when I read it and probably thought that living off the land, free to do what I wanted would be the greatest thing ever.
Manolo Darling, and what are you listening this week, after read your review about gnarls barkley, I listened too and I liked it so much, that the only thing that now I can do is thanking you for the advice, right now I am reading Mario Vargas Llosa´s La niña mala, it is quite good
Chau
Bravo for grown-ups reading “children’s”/”young adult” books! I would say one of the indicators of a good children/YA book is if grown men and women enjoy reading it. My 4th grade teacher read us “Island of the Blue Dolphins” after lunch/recess each day. (Good for helping us to settle down after running around outisde for an hour). I have bought new copies of my favorite children’s books (hardcover where possible) just for myself. I still make it a point to read some of the newly published books for children, some of which are excellent (and others not, just like shoes). And every so often I read a book that I saw on the shelves as a child, but just never read.
Lisa LaRee (why is your name familiar?): My mom once took a day trip to the Channel Islands and the tour operator said that the Lost Woman of San Nicholas Island died so soon after being rescued that very little is known of her actual story and that Mr O’Dell therefore had to create a fictional story.
KikiBelle: I agree, “The Giver” is excellent. Have you read “Gathering Blue”? Ms. Lowry left the ending of “The Giver” up to the interpretation of the reader. And I have my own interpretation (which were tears of joy, also – - we should correspond regarding this!!). But so many people have demanded an exact explanation of what happened to Jonas that Ms Lowry has been persuaded to write a sequel. Okay, so much for leaving the interpretation of the ending up to the reader. It will, in effect, make some readers “wrong”. But I guess I can’t blame the author for doing it. I don’t envy her the task, though. Years later coming up with a sequel you hadn’t thought of when you previously created characters and “completed” their story? Difficult task and one that cannot please all readers.
Gina; dunno why my name is familiar, unless you are a frequenter of sewing sites ;)….I saw the little historical note in the back that the book is based on a true story, but is a fictional account, which is why I wondered how much her story would actually match the book. I’m probably going to carry the same impression as Jenny, although I can see why the adventure of living alone on an island would appeal to a kid. Still, it’s not as depressing as Tess of the D’Urbervilles or The Lord of the Flies. My favorite young reader’s book, and still among the top 10 of all the books I’ve read, is Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. I read it in the seventh grade, and for years it was the gold standard to which all other books were compared.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is indeed a wonderful story, and not only for children. Isn’t it sad that so many books we think of as classics are regarded as children’s stories? There is a reason books such as “Treasure Island” and “Oliver Twist” have been on library shelves for generations! I was in Santa Barbara last month and visited the mission, where the woman whose story is recounted in Blue Dolphin is buried (although the actual location of her gravesite has been lost to memory). There are printed accounts of her brief life after being rescued from the island available in the bookstore. Since I teach middle-school English and many of my students love the book, I purchased copies of ‘the rest of the story’ to include in my classroom library.
For additional summer reading, may I recommend “Summer of the Monkeys” by Wilson Rawls. There is not much discussion of footwear, but on particular incident involving the disappearance of a set of overalls caused me to laugh until tears rolled down my face.
For Gina: Lois Lowry has now also released “Messenger”, the third in the Giver set. Each of the three books leave you wondering about what happened next, and the following book gives hints — but the reader has to make connections and fill in the blanks. Wonderful for young readers!
Jim of the Silicon Valley agrees heartily with the implied recommendation of “Grand Illusion”. It is truly one of the great films.