Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 15, 1989) was an American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

, primarily, including several children's novels about historical

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. For his contribution as a children's writer he received the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 1972, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. He received The University of Southern Mississippi Medallion in 1976 and the Catholic Libraries Association Regina Medal in 1978. O'Dell's best known work is the historical novel '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' (1960), which won the 1961

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

and the 1963

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

in its German translation. It was also named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list. He was one of the annual Newbery runners-up for three other books: '' The King's Fifth'' (1966), '' The Black Pearl'' (1967), and ''Sing Down the Moon'' (1970).

Biography

Scott O'Dell was born on May 23,1898 as "O'Dell Gabriel Scott", but after his name was incorrectly published on a book as "Scott O'Dell", he decided to keep the name. He was born on

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as , is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Wilmington and San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to parents May Elizabeth Gabriel and Bennett Mason Scott. He attended multiple colleges, including

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

in 1919, the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1920,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1921, and the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

in 1925. During World War II, he served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was employed as a cameraman and technical director, as a book columnist for the ''

Los Angeles Mirror The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'', and as book review editor for the ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

''. He was married two times. His wives were Jane Dorsa Rattenbury, and Elizabeth Hall. In 1934, O'Dell began writing articles as well as fiction and nonfiction books for adults. In the late 1950s, he began writing children's books. His first children's book was ''Island of the Blue Dolphins''. In 1984, he established the

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is an annual American children's book award that recognizes historical fiction. It was established in 1982 by Scott O'Dell, author of ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' and 25 other children's books, in ho ...

, an award of $5,000 that recognizes outstanding works of historical fiction. The winners must be published in English by a U.S. publisher and be set in the New World (North, Central, and South America). In 1986, ''

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books ''The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books'' is an academic journal established in 1945 by Frances E. Henne ( University of Chicago Graduate Library School).Wedgeworth, Robert. ''World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services''. C ...

'' awarded O'Dell this same award. Scott O'Dell died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

on October 15, 1989, at the age of 91. His ashes were sprinkled into the Pacific Ocean off

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

Film adaptations

There have been several film adaptations of O'Dell's work. ''Island of the Blue Dolphins'' has been translated into a number of languages and was made into a movie in 1964, starring

Celia Kaye Celia Kaye (born February 24, 1942) is an American actress. She starred in the 1964 film adaptation of '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' which won her a Golden Globe award. Early life Kaye is of German and Cherokee descent and was born in Cart ...

, Larry Domasin, Ann Daniel, and

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

. In 1978, Saul Swimmer produced and directed a film version of ''The Black Pearl'' with Gilbert Roland and Mario Custodio. ''The King's Fifth'' served as inspiration for the 1982

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series ''

The Mysterious Cities of Gold , known outside of Japan as the first season of ''The Mysterious Cities of Gold'' ( French: ''Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or''), is an animated series which was produced by MK, NHK, DiC Audiovisuel, CLT and animated by Studio Pierrot. Th ...

,'' a Japan-France co-production that was aired in several different countries.

Selected works

Nonfiction

*''Representative Photoplays Analyzed'', Palmer Institute of Authorship 1/1924 *''Country of the Sun (Southern California, an Informal Guide)'',

Thomas Y. Crowell Co. Thomas Y. Crowell Co. was a publishing company founded by Thomas Y. Crowell. The company began as a bookbindery founded by Benjamin Bradley in 1834. Crowell operated the business after Bradley's death in 1862 and eventually purchased the compan ...

1/1957

Children's book series

;Karana #'' Island of the Blue Dolphins'', Houghton Mifflin 1/1960, #'' Zia'', Houghton Mifflin 3/1976, ;Seven Serpents #''The Captive'',

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

1/1979, #''Feathered Serpent'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1981, #'' The Amethyst Ring'', Houghton Mifflin 4/1983, *omnibus ''Seven Serpents Trilogy'', Sourcebooks Jabberwocky 3/2009,

Other novels

*''Woman of Spain (a Story of Old California)'', Houghton Mifflin 1934 *''Hill of the Hawk (Novel of Early California)'', Houghton Mifflin 1/1947 ** latest edition:

Kessinger Publishing Kessinger Publishing, LLC is an American print-on-demand publishing company located in Whitefish, Montana, that specializes in rare, out-of-print books. In 2009, the company produced 190,175 titles and was reported to be the third-largest prod ...

9/2010, *''The Sea is Red'',

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt (publisher), Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. The company publishes in ...

1958 *''Journey to Jericho'', Houghton Mifflin 8/1964, *'' The King's Fifth'', Houghton Mifflin 9/1966, *'' The Black Pearl'', Houghton Mifflin 1/1967, *''Dark Canoe'', illustrated by Milton Johnson, Houghton Mifflin 1/1968 ** latest edition: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky 9/2008, *'' Sing Down the Moon'', Houghton Mifflin 9/1970, *''Treasure of Topo-El-Bampo'', Houghton Mifflin 2/1972, *''Cruise of the Arctic Star'', Houghton Mifflin 3/1973, *''The Child of Fire'', Houghton Mifflin 9/1974, *''The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day'', Houghton Mifflin 9/1975, *''The 290'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1976, *''Carlota'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1977, *''Kathleen Please Come Home'', Houghton Mifflin 5/1978, *''Daughter of Don Saturnino'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

3/1979, *''

Sarah Bishop Sarah Bishop (previously Falkland) is a journalist on British television working as a reporter and newsreader on BBC Midlands Today for the West Midlands Region. Career Before joining ''Midlands Today'', she worked as Sarah Falkland for the B ...

(They Took Away Her Home and Her Family)'', Houghton Mifflin 1/1980 ** latest edition: San Val 10/1999, *''The Spanish Smile'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1982, *''Castle in the Sea'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1983, *''Alexandra'', Houghton Mifflin 4/1984, *''The Road to Damietta'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1985, *''Streams to River, River to the Sea (a Novel of Sacagawea)'', Houghton Mifflin 4/1986, *''The Serpent Never Sleeps (a Novel of Jamestown and

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

)'', Houghton Mifflin 9/1987, *''Black Star, Bright Dawn'', Houghton Mifflin 1/1988 ** latest edition: Graphia 3/2008, *'' My Name Is Not Angelica'', Houghton Mifflin 10/1989, *''Thunder Rolling in the Mountains'', with Elizabeth Hall, Houghton Mifflin 4/1992, *''Venus Among the Fishes'', with Elizabeth Hall, Houghton Mifflin 4/1995,

References

;Other sources * Commire, Anne (ed.) (1990). ''Something About the Author'' Vol. 60. Gale Research Inc.: Detroit.

External links

ScottOdell.com
(some first-person content)
Scott O'Dell papers
at University of Oregon Libraries *
Scott O'Dell
at Wikisummaries {{DEFAULTSORT:Odell, Scott 1898 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists American children's writers American historical novelists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American travel writers American young adult novelists Deaths from prostate cancer in New York (state) Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners The Mysterious Cities of Gold Newbery Honor winners Newbery Medal winners Sapienza University of Rome alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Writers from Los Angeles