1. Scott O’Dell
May 23 , 1898 –
rd
October 15 ,1989
th

2. Born in Los Angeles, California
•Moved around often within the
state of California because his
father worked for Union Pacific
Railroad
•Attended Polytechnic High School
in San Pedro, California
•Attended numerous Universities
even though he never obtained a
degree
• Stanford University
• The University of Wisconsin –
Madison
• The University of Rome
• Bostrom, 2003
• http://www.thinkquest.org/en/

3. Rather than dedicate his time toward
earning a degree, O’Dell "only took
classes that interested him and classes
he thought would benefit his writing.”
Bostrom, 2003, p.134

4. Employment History
More than just an award
winning author…

5. Background
•Member of the Air Force
during WWII
•Worked in Motion Picture
Industry
•Wrote for
magazines/newspapers
•Laborer on a citrus ranch
•Editor for the Los Angeles
News
• Bostrom, 2003
• Silvey, 2002, 332
http://www.thinkquest.org/en/

6. Interesting Facts
• O’Dell’s writing began as he became • Before finishing Thunder Rolling, O’Dell
“angry seeing the hunting of animals past away. His wife ended up finishing the
near his home novel for him.
• Cullinan & Person, 2001, • Bostrom, 2003, p. 135
p. 599  There is a Scott O’Dell Award for historical
• O’Dell’s first novel never made it to fiction (1982)
print. He burned it after he read it over • Bostrom, 2003, p. 135
several times.  It was never O’Dell’s intention to write for
• Bostrom, 2003, p. 133 children or young adults
• Cullinan & Person, 2001, p. 599
• O’Dell taught a course in photography
writing
http://research.cincinnatilibrary.org:2143/ic/bic1/?userGroupName=cinc37305 for historical
 There is a Scott O’Dell Award
•
fiction (1982)
• http://www.scottodell.com/Pages/Biography.
• Manned the first Technicolor camera
• Bostrom, 2003, p. 34

7. Personal Accomplishments
•Author of a John Newberry Award winning book
• Several other Newberry Honor titles
•Hans Christian Anderson Award
• “O’Dell said that this award meant more to him in his career as a writer
than any other he received.”
•Regina Medial (1978)
•FOCAL Award (1981)
•And many more…
http://www.scottodell.com/Pages/Biography.aspx

8. However… O’Dell is most notable for his
contributions to children and young adult
literature

9. The Black Pearl
•Published in 1967
by Houghton
Mifflin in 1976
•John Newberry
Honor Book (1978)
•Based on a
California Legend
•Released as a
Motion Picture
Film in 1978
• http://www.scottodell.com/Pages/Bio
graphy.aspx

10. O’Dell, S. (1976). The black pearl.
Boston, MA : Houghton Mifflin.
While the discovery of a mysterious black pearl
provides hope for Ramon and his family, it proves to
be more peril than not. After waking a demonic
creature, Ramon uncovers a more adventurous and
dangerous path than he ever expected.

11. Island of the Blue Dolphins
• O’Dell’s book was
initially denied because
the publisher thought
the protagonist should
be a boy and the setting
should be more modern.
•Later published by
Houghton Mifflin in 1960
•Based on a real events
•Aside from introducing
the world to a fabulous
author, Island of the Blue
Dolphins has won some
prestigious award
• Bostrom, 2003
• http://www.scottodell.com/
Pages/Biography.aspx

12. Island of the Blue Dolphin Awards
•John Newberry Award (1961)
•Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (1961)
•Children’s Literature Association: “10 Best
American Children’s Books of the Past 200
Years (1976)
•School Library Journal , Books That Shaped
The Century (2000)
•And More…

13. O'Dell, S. (1960). Island of the blue
dolphins. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
After being abandoned by her tribe, Karana
experiences the death of her brother Ramo, hatred for
the wild dogs that took his life, hunger, friendship and
new founding love for the place she calls home. The
reader hears receives a first-person perspective on
what it takes to survive in the wild alone and the
difficult decisions one faces in life.

14. Sing Down the Moon
•Published in by
Houghton
Mifflin in 1970
•Newberry
Honor Title
(1971)
•Booklist
Contemporary
Classics for
Young Adults
(1984)
http://www.scottodell.com/Pages
/Biography.aspx

15. O'Dell, S. (1976; 1970). Sing down
the moon. New York : Dell Pub. Co.:
Told from the perspective of a young Navajo girl,
Bright Morning tells the story of her tribe that was
ripped away from their livelihood and forced into
slavery. After escaping capture with her best friend,
she comes to find out that her life will never be the
same.

16. Visit the following sites for additional
information on Scott O’Dell and his
work:
•Scott O'Dell Biography
•Scott O'Dell's Website
•Goodreads
•The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton
County's Catalog and Biography Databases

17. References
 Bomstrom, K. L. (2003). Winning authors: Profiles of the
newberry medalists. Wesport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
 Drew, B. A., & NetLibrary, I. (1997). The 100 most
popular young adult authors (Rev 1 ed.). Englewood,
Colo.: Libraries Unlimited.
 Gale Cenage Learning. (2012). Gale biography in context.
Retrieved October 8, 2012, from
http://research.cincinnatilibrary.org:2143/ic/bic1/?
userGroupName=cinc37305
 Oracle. (2012). Scott O'dell biography. Retrieved October
7, 2012, from http://www.thinkquest.org/en/

18. References Cont…
 Scott O'dell. (1995). In A. Silvey (Ed.), Children's books
and their creators (pp. 496-497). Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin Company.
 Scott O'dell. (2001). In B. Cullinan, & D. Person (Eds.),
The continuum encyclopedia of children's literature (pp.
599-600). New York: Continuum.
 Scott O'dell. (2002). In A. Silvey (Ed.), The essential guide
to children's books and their creators (pp. 332-333).
Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
 Skyforce Technologies.Scott O'dell. Retrieved October 8,
2012, from
http://www.scottodell.com/Pages/Biography.aspx