Scott O'Dell is one of the best-known writers of historical fiction for children from eight to ten through adolescence. His contributions to literature for children would be significant if he had written no other books besides Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) and The King's Fifth (1966). O'Dell has won many awards for his children's books, including the Newbery Medal in 1961 for Island of the Blue Dolphins, and three of his works have been Newbery Honor books. In 1972 he won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for lifetime achievement, the second American writer to win that award. He was also presented the University of Southern Mississippi medallion in 1976, the Regina Medal in 1978, and the Focal Award from the Los Angeles Public Library in 1981.

O'Dell, the son of Bennett Mason and May Elizabeth Gabriel O'Dell, has spent much of his life in the region where he was born, Los Angeles and southern...