Scott O'Dell

Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1890 – October 15, 1989) is an American author who wrote twenty-six children's novels, three adult novels, and four non-fiction books. He is best known for "Island of the Blue Dolphins."

Life and Works

O'Dell was born Odell Gabriel Scott on May 23, 1898, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in a wild California in a house on stilts that was over water during high tide. He attended Occidental College, the University of Wisconsin, Stanford University, and the University of Rome. He was a soldier in World War One and World War Two and a Hollywood cameraman (he worked on the set of Ben Hur) before he began writing historical literature. In 1960, he wrote the first of several children's pieces of historical fiction, "Island of the Blue Dolphins", which won the 1961 Newberry Award. While Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the true story of a California girl, much of the details come from O'Dell's memories of voyaging in handmade canoes as a child.

He died October 15, 1989, and is still survived by his widow, Elizabeth Hall.

See also

• Norton Juster
• Lewis Carroll
• Eric Carle
• Antoine de Saint-Exupry

External links

• Official Website