Island of the Blue Dolpins & Zia....BF History of California...

After reading aloud Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, the kids wanted to follow up with the sequel, Zia.  Both books are part of the Beautiful Feet History of California study.  I read them at bedtime for a combination of history and literature.  We used the BF guide for discussion, however, I didn't require any notebooking on either book.

Island of the Blue Dolphins tells the story of Karana, a young girl who is abandoned on her native people's island off the coast of California.  The book presents the story of her life in isolation there for 18 years, where Karana shows undaunted courage.  Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on a true story.  The kids really enjoyed the book.

As noted above, Zia is a sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins, so naturally the kids wanted to read more.  Zia started and ended strong, but there was a lag in the middle where I lost interest and felt a bit confused.

Zia is the fictional niece of Karana, who attempts to rescue her from the island.  Zia lives at the Santa Barbara Mission.  The book gives a good overview of life at the missions for indigenous California natives.   I won't give away the story, but will suffice to say the ending is bittersweet...