3 Books to Read by Scott O’Dell

You’ve probably come across the work of Scott O’Dell (author of Island of the Blue Dolphins) at some point or another. His historical fiction books range across settings from the early European explorations to the Native Americans.

I certainly can’t claim to have read all of his books, but today I thought I’d discuss the three that have stood out to me from the ones I have read. I look forward to reading more of his work in the future!

Scott O’Dell’s Writing

Scott O’Dell’s writing style is not the sort you will find in most books today. It has a much more matter of fact tone. You have to appreciate this sort of writing to get anything out of his books, I think. And it isn’t the kind of writing that will suit all sorts of books, but the good news is that it fits the books he writes.

Since Scott O’Dell’s books are almost completely historical fiction, the tone adds to the accurate depiction of the time period instead of drawing away from it.

Island of the Blue Dolphins

The first time I read this book was during Covid (it was actually the praise of Kate DiCamillo that encouraged me to give it a try). That year was one of high quality reading in my own life, though I have to admit that I wasn’t as blown away by Island of the Blue Dolphins as I was expecting to be. There are several reasons this might be, and I honestly don’t think any of them are the quality of the book. I likely wasn’t ready to appreciate the style of writing that Scott O’Dell uses. Although I was definitely mature enough to understand the book, at that age I was reading books that had a more personal point of view (which is what many modern books tend to be).

Now that I have broadened my reading, I look forward to rereading this book with new eyes. Since reading other books by him I have found myself much more intrigued by his writing.

Streams to the River, River to the Sea

This book follows Lewis and Clark (and, more specifically, Sacagawea) across North America. It was truly enjoyable to read, and I found myself being more and more impressed as the book went on. Funnily enough, I only have this book thanks to an impulsive decision to purchase it at a used book sale (although I knew of Scott O’Dell, I wasn’t very familiar with his work yet).

It is a rather easy read with very short chapters, and if you ever come across it by chance you should definitely make the purchase (especially if it only cost 50 cents 😉 ).

The King’s Fifth

I’m in the middle of rereading this book for school right now, which is what sparked the idea for this post. 🙂 Getting to read this book is my favorite part of the school day. The story follows a young mapmaker who was part of an exploration that discovered a large quantity of gold. Only, he is now the only man alive who knows it’s location and is being tried and questioned for that very thing.

While it seems like this book could easily become far on the side of ‘high stakes’ and ‘adventure’, it’s very grounded and focused. This book is the perfect example of how Scott O’Dell is able to write about something fascinating while never failing to hold onto the details that make the story real.

Final Thoughts

I don’t often hear people talking about Scott O’Dell, which seems unfair considering the quality books he’s written. But his talent doesn’t change the fact that a lot of people might not have read any of his writing before. I think they are more than worth reading, because even if his style of writing does not turn out to be your type, you will gain a lot of knowledge and exposure by reading it.

These are some great books to read if you’re interested in dappling in Scott O’Dell’s work. I would be interested to hear if you’ve read any of them!