Author Studyby Natalie Geise

LIBM 305

Scott O’DellMay 23, 1898 – October 16, 1989

Biography• Scott O'Dell was born on May 23, 1898, in Los Angeles,

California• He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School,

Occidental College, the University of Wisconsin, Stanford University, and the University of Rome. He never received a degree, because he took only courses that interested him---philosophy, history, psychology and literature

• As an adult, O'Dell worked as a cameraman, most notably on the movie Ben Hur

• Later, he worked as a book editor for a Los Angeles newspaper. He became a full-time writer in 1934, first writing both fiction and nonfiction for adults

• In the late 1950s, he began to write books for children• Scott served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary during WWII

after completing service with the Air Force• Two of his books, “Island of the Blue Dolphins” and ”The

Black Pearl” have been made into films

Career Highlights

• He was an American author of 26 novels for young people• O'Dell's best known work is the historical novel Island of the Blue

Dolphins (1960), which won the 1961 Newbery Medal• He received Newbery Honor recognition for three of his other

books • He entertained and enlightened millions of readers around the

world• Children with a thirst for adventure and a love of nature are drawn

to his stories of young people, whose survival depends on their determination and self-reliance

• He has been called “The foremost American writer of children's historical fiction"

Some of his books

Quotes• “We moved a lot, but never far. [ . . .] That is

why, I suppose, the sound of the sea and the feel of the frontier are in my books. And why many of the people I have written about are Indians, Spaniards, and Chicanos.”

• “Writing is hard, harder than digging a ditch, and it requires patience.”

• “Island of the Blue Dolphins, began in anger, anger at the hunters who invade the mountains where I live and who slaughter everything that creeps or walks or flies.”

• “One thing I’ve done in my writing life, is champion women’s causes. I have great admiration for women. They are the repositories of the instinct of preservation. I think they are far superior to men.”

Sing Down the Moon

• Published in 1970 by Houghton Mifflin• A young Navajo girl recounts the events of 1864 when her tribe

was forced to march to Fort Sumner as prisoners of the white soldiers

• Through the eyes of Bright Morning, a young Navaho girl, we see what happens to human beings who are uprooted from the life they know

• "[This] story is told quietly as if in keeping with the natural stoical dignity of the American Indian, permitting the facts of 'man's cruelty to man' to speak for themselves. [Sing Down the Moon} is significant for its depiction of the triumph of the human spirit.”-Horn Book

Fun Facts About Scott O’Dell

• Until Scott was an adult, his name was Odell Gabriel Scott. On one of his earliest writings, a typesetter's mistake produced an article written by "Scott O'Dell." Scott liked the new name so much that he had his name changed legally in the 1920s.

• He spent a year in the city of Florence. There he wrote his first novel. It was called Pinfeathers, but it was never published. No one will ever read the book, because Scott burned the manuscript.

• Besides Sir Walter Scott, Scott found his greatest inspiration in the works of Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, D. H. Lawrence, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Willa Cather. His favorite books by other authors were Moby Dick, Billy Budd, The Great Gatsby, and The Good Soldier.

• Scott O'Dell's ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean off La Jolla, California. When the ceremony was completed, the boat turned back toward shore. At that moment, a pod of dolphins burst from the water. Forming an honor guard, they leaped and played, escorting the boat of mourners. The dolphins did not leave until the boat entered San Diego Bay.

In 1981, O'Dell established the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, awarded annually to a work for young people set in the

New World and written by a U. S. citizen.

O'Dell established the award to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction, hoping to increase children's interest in history.

Related Links• For life facts and to write to his wife: http

://www.scottodell.com/Pages/Biography.aspx• To buy his books: http

://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bookwizard/books-by/scott-o039dell

• Pictures of him: http://www.google.com/search?q=scott+odell&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=aFCBUvSTFM-EkQe7s4GADA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1215&bih=680#q=scott%20o'dell&rls=en&tbm=isch

• How to teach historical fiction in the classroom: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/why-how-i-teach-historical-fiction