Alone on the Island of the Blue Dolphins

Every November hundreds of thousands of 4th-graders read Scott O’Dell’s Newbery Medal winning 1960 children’s novel Island of the Blue Dolphins. Filmmaker Paul Goldsmith’s documentary focuses on the real-life figure behind the book: the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island"—later Anglicized to "Juana Maria"—who was thought to be left behind on a remote California island and lived alone for nearly 20 years after she (according to various suppositions) missed the boat when her tribe was shipped to the mainland. Different romanticized stories of the "female Robinson Crusoe" are touched on here, including an archaeological examination of her homemade tools (such as a water jug and hairpin). Several experts chime in, as well as author Sara L. Schwebel (who edited a critical edition of O’Dell’s book and says he probably "stretched the truth") and Chumash elder Ernestine De Soto, who suggests that Juana Maria would likely have fared better living with a native family instead of "discoverer" and expedition leader George Nidever (Juana Maria only lived for seven weeks after being taken from the island). Extras include additional related short films. A thought-provoking look behind a classic children’s novel, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Williams-Wood)