I have a deep affection for Island of the Blue Dolphins. One day, when a friend sent this book for my daughter to read, I immediately knew that I simply had to read it myself!

This is a straightforward, fast-paced, and truly heart-wrenching story about The Long Walk that took place in 1863. The Navaho Indians were gathered up and led to Fort Sumner. The narrative is told from the perspective of a young 16-year-old girl. It vividly describes what it was like for her to grow up and how she endured the arduous Long Walk. It also details her eventual escape with her husband and baby boy.

This story is written exquisitely, and it's easy to understand why it won the Newbery Honor. The author has managed to bring to life the experiences and emotions of the characters in a way that is both engaging and deeply moving. It's a book that not only entertains but also educates, providing a glimpse into a significant historical event through the eyes of a young girl.

On a beautiful spring morning, fourteen-year-old Bright Morning and her best friend are peacefully grazing their sheep.

Suddenly, two strange men appear. These men are Spanish slavers who have come to the Navaho country with the cruel intention of stealing girls and selling them to families in town. In an instant, they take Bright Morning and her friend captive!

Bright Morning is a girl of great determination. She is resolved to escape and find her way back home to her beloved family. But unfortunately, the times are changing. Soon, her cherished home will no longer be the same. In fact, the entire Navaho way of life is on the verge of changing forever.

Although I didn't enjoy this book as much as I initially thought I would, it is still a great piece of work. I highly recommend reading it as it offers a fascinating glimpse into a different world and a tumultuous period of history.

This was a solid read.

It was a book that had been sitting on my shelves for quite some time. As the days passed, I gradually lost interest in it. However, I'm truly glad that I eventually picked it up.

I never really became deeply connected to any of the characters. I think this is mainly because I simply couldn't relate to them. I didn't experience what Bright Morning and her people did, so it was difficult for me to put myself in their shoes. Nevertheless, I thought she was a strong character.

I also really appreciated the way that Bright Morning坚守 her values throughout everything she went through.

The plot of this book was quite interesting. I haven't read many novels set in this particular time of history, so I learned a great deal while reading.

This book took a very different turn than I had anticipated. I thought it was going to be a story about a girl in captivity, but instead, this novel focused more on the after-effects.

I don't feel that saying I was entertained is quite appropriate in this context, so I'll say that I was interested throughout the novel.

The ending was fitting, and I think the author did a great job with the subject matter.

There wasn't any cursing in this novel, nor was there any sexual content. There was some violence that was suitable for the time period.

I would say that this book is appropriate for middle-grade readers, but older readers can enjoy it just as much.

I would recommend this book. It was a quick read that managed to pack a lot of history into very few pages. I would definitely be open to picking up more works from this author in the future.

This is a re-read of a book that I read for class in fourth grade, and this time, I am reading it with the Kiddo.

Young Navajo sheep-herder Bright Morning endures two extremely harrowing situations in this story. Firstly, she is abducted and sold into slavery by a Spanish slaver along with one of her good friends. The two girls manage to escape, only for Bright Morning to be embroiled in the forced displacement of the Navajo nation by US soldiers during the "Long Walk" of 1864.

While Bright Morning battles for her own survival and that of her family, her childhood friend Tall Boy grapples with a crisis of confidence when he injures his arm and finds himself incapable of fighting against the American army soldiers.

The first half of the book is very compelling, but it does lag a bit in the middle as the events become so overwhelming for Bright Morning that she transforms into more of a passive figure caught up in the tragedies surrounding her. She regains some of her agency toward the end, but by that point, a significant portion of the focus is on the redemption of Tall Boy. Nevertheless, there are several very powerful small moments throughout the story, and Bright Morning remains a character brimming with courage, loyalty, and hope.

This book was written in 1970, so our understanding of Native American history has advanced somewhat since that time. However, O'Dell clearly dedicated a great deal of effort to his research, not only on the historical events but also on the details of the daily lives of the Navajo in the 1860s.

“Singing Down the Moon”

The Navaho Native Americans, as described in Scott O’Dell’s “Singing Down the Moon”, endured years of suffering at the hands of the United States and the “Ute’s” Native Americans. They tried to protect themselves through treaties with the U.S., but most were broken. By 1863, the situation worsened as the U.S. became savage, looting their land and leaving them homeless and hungry. The Navahos were forced to leave their resourceful land in Arizona and take the “Long Walk” to a dry and barren land in New Mexico. Along the way, many died. At “Fort Sumner”, they faced more hardships, including starvation and disease. However, they managed to maintain their loyalty, strength, dignity, and respect for each other. By 1865, the surviving group had grown to more than 100,000. The Navahos were held prisoner until 1868 when they were freed and given gifts to start rebuilding their lives. They moved to a better part of the country and could grow crops again. This book shows that with loyalty and dedication, one can overcome even the toughest of challenges.

O'Dell's understated yet complex characters and his keen sense of historical detail are indeed remarkable.

However, these elements alone are not sufficient to make up for the deficiency in the plot. The structure of the story gives the impression of a fifth grader's research report on the Navaho.

"There were these people, the Navaho. They had sheep and other things. Sometimes they were kidnapped. They had ceremonies. Then they were sent to a reservation. It was a sad situation. The End."

I have always regarded myself as a fan of Scott O'Dell. Nevertheless, this particular book failed to engage me.

The lack of a more compelling and developed plot prevented me from fully immersing myself in the story and connecting with the characters on a deeper level.

Despite the author's evident strengths in character portrayal and historical accuracy, the overall reading experience was somewhat lacking.

Perhaps with a more refined and engaging plot, this book could have been a truly outstanding work.

As it stands, it falls short of my expectations as a fan of O'Dell's writing.

I would have ranked it lower, but it does give an introduction to what happened to Native Americans.

It provides a basic understanding of the historical events and experiences that the Native Americans endured. However, there are several aspects of the story that I found lacking.

I can understand the Indians speaking broken English to the Long Knives, as they were likely communicating with a foreign language and culture. But the portrayal of the tribe/family members speaking to each other in broken speech didn't make any sense.

For example, all the men said “Yes. We go.” During a discussion amongst the men. This made the whole group of men lack dynamic traits and sound foolish. It seemed like a forced attempt to create a certain dialect or speech pattern, rather than a natural representation of how the characters would communicate.

Also, I'm not an expert, but some of the historical facts seemed wrong. Like Apaches eating dogs. I can understand anyone eating what they had to to survive during famine/the long march. But this gets mentioned before the long march. It made me question the accuracy of other historical details in the story.

I agree with other reviewers that it could have been 3 well developed stories instead of 1 not so well developed. The story felt rushed and didn't have enough depth to fully explore the complex themes and characters. However, to reach a children's classroom and give them an introduction to the material has its value.

Lastly, why why why does the author refer to “my black dog” through the whole story. And use backwards grammar even in non-dialogue sentences at times. It was a strange and distracting choice that didn't add anything to the overall narrative.

Bright Morning's world is completely turned upside down when she is abducted by Spanish slavers.

She somehow manages to escape, only to face another cruel fate as the "Long Knives" force her people from their homes. They are left in an encampment with no freedom or rights.

The book follows her experiences, first as an enslaved girl and then as a young woman who yearns for freedom.

This book is truly excellent. I really loved it, and I firmly believe that any student aged 10 and above would enjoy it. The entire story is almost unbearably painful to read because of the things that occur and how it shatters the people around Bright Morning.

The afterword is even more impactful, citing the history behind the fiction. There is a great deal of value to be discovered in a book like this.

This is one book that would be extremely easy to utilize in an educational setting. Its basis in history makes it a book that can effortlessly connect to an American History class. Even without taking into account its connection to other subjects, this book has a wealth of literary value, both in terms of its content and writing style. Not to mention that it would be perfect for Native American History Month (November).

This was our history read aloud.

It was just an ordinary experience. The words on the page came to life as we spoke them, but there was nothing特别 remarkable about it.

We followed the text, reading each sentence carefully, trying to convey the meaning and the significance of the historical events.

However, it felt a bit平淡 and lacked the excitement and engagement that could have made it truly memorable.

Maybe it was the way we read, or perhaps the material itself wasn't as captivating as it could have been.

Nonetheless, it was a part of our learning process, and we did our best to understand and absorb the information.

As we finished the read aloud, we reflected on what we had learned and discussed some of the key points.

Although it wasn't a perfect experience, it still contributed to our knowledge and understanding of history.

We look forward to future opportunities to explore history in more interesting and engaging ways.

This was such a profoundly sad book! It had been highly recommended to me, and I had been engrossed in reading a significant amount of Scott O'Dell's works lately. So, naturally, I was filled with excitement to embark on this reading journey. However, as I delved into the story, I found it extremely challenging to establish a connection with the main character.

Overall, the entire narrative was rather depressing. I understand, I truly do. It is meant to mirror real life, and let's face it, real life can be depressingly harsh. But unfortunately, that's not the kind of experience I prefer to encounter in my literature. In that regard, it's not the book's fault.

Nevertheless, I do think it was just a tad...dry. It vividly reminded me of the writing style of "True Grit" - it was as if it were a factual report of events that had transpired, much like a journal or a court record. There was very little fluff or embellishment, but an abundance of raw honesty.

I would still recommend this book, but one must keep in mind that despite the truly horrible things that occur within its pages, it lacks the element of drama.

This was truly an extremely interesting read.

The language employed in this book is distinct from that of any other book I have ever perused. This is mainly due to the language that the main characters spoke.

From the very outset, I was deeply intrigued. Just by reading the back cover of the book, I knew that the two girls were going to be taken.

The entire book delves into her harrowing story of being abducted and the arduous work she had to undertake once she was sold to the woman.

She vividly shares how she managed to escape and her thrilling adventure of making her way back home.

Subsequently, her village is compelled to evacuate, and the narrative then evolves to focus more on her individual life rather than that of her people. This is because she gets married and has children of her own.

I appreciate that the story is narrated from a first-person point of view. This makes it a highly personal account throughout, rather than just an outsider's perspective looking in.

Overall, it really wasn't a difficult book to read, apart from perhaps the names of all the different villages. Therefore, this book was a quick and straightforward read that kept me engaged from start to finish.

Scott O'Dell's "Sing Down the Moon", written in 1970, is a fictionalized account of the Navajo children's enslavement by Mexicans and their forced removal by American soldiers to Bosque Redondo/Fort Sumner in the 1860s.

Had I been an adult when it was first published and read it then, I might have been grateful for someone speaking of these injustices and Bright Morning's defiance and escape. However, I don't think this book should be read by children today, especially if it's seen as an illustration of Navajo culture.

As scholar C. Anita Tarr noted, Bright Morning's lack of emotional response to her imprisonment, relatives' deaths and scattering, home destruction, and other atrocities conforms to the stereotype of the "stoic Indian". Though I'm not an expert on Navajo culture and history, the trauma some tribal members still feel about these 150-year-old events disproves O'Dell's flat portrayal.

Although the author was recognized for historical accuracy, there are details in "Sing Down the Moon" that don't seem true to me. For instance, I can't believe a Native teenager like Bright Morning, almost an adult in her time and place, would leave her family's sheep unattended in a field due to a storm (pg. 4-5). O'Dell's portrayal of Navajo manhood, especially in Tall Boy, is demeaning. This man Bright Morning marries is "haughty" (pg. 13-14), a slow runner and sore loser (pg. 70), and, having lost his arm, can't defend his people (pg. 79, 89). Imprisoned at Bosque Redondo, he becomes idle (pg. 104). Even after helping build their hut (pg. 108) and softening Bright Morning's mother, it's hard to understand why her parents would accept him. After the wedding, he's "an old woman" who must be prodded to leave the fort (pg. 122-123) and only returns with Bright Morning because he's tired of her nagging (pg. 130). Like a Tonto character, Tall Boy seems unworthy of her and real Native men who strive for bravery, endurance, and skill.

Books like "Sing Down the Moon" make me wish awards had expiration dates. If read, it should be understood as a white person's late 1960s/early 1970s commentary or imagining of Native American history, not a true story from Navajo perspectives.