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Nim loves her island home and the animals she shares it with even while her scientist father is away doing research, but trouble is on the way and a new e-mail friend could be the only one who can help.Tags
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My six-year-old reading companion and I both enjoyed Nim's Island very much. It's adventure-oriented without being dark or terrifying. (The marine iguana and sea lion sidekicks help there. Parents with sensitive readers might want to know that Nim's mother died in a weird way when she was a baby, something that's brought up repeatedly.) Refreshingly, it doesn't seem to position itself as a "girl book" or a "boy book"--and it plays with gender in neat ways by having its kickass girl lead assume an adventure-writer named Alex is a man, even when she tries to clarify that she's not. The "bad guys" are flat and uninteresting, but the "good" characters have more to offer readers, and the story is quite fun.
Also, homeschooling families might show more enjoy the fact that this particular kickass girl lead's father is unschooling her on their fabulous island. show less
Also, homeschooling families might show more enjoy the fact that this particular kickass girl lead's father is unschooling her on their fabulous island. show less
Nim and her father have been living alone on a tropical island since Nim was a baby. It has everything she could want – her best friends (a sea lion and an iguana), her father, loads of awesome science-y things to do, and no school.
One day, her father (a scientist) heads off on a three-day trip to study plankton, and leaves Nim in charge of the island… but, after a crazy storm, he doesn’t return. Nim turns to her new email pal, Alex, for help. Alex is determined to find Nim’s island as quickly as possible so she can help Nim while her father is missing… unfortunately, the only people that Alex has been able to find that are willing to help her get to Nim’s island, are the same ones that Nim and her father have been trying to show more protect their island from…
The Response
Oh, cuteness abounds!
I read this book through twice, once right after the other, because Nim is one of the cutest girls in the history of adorable girls. And her father reminds me of a Daniel Jackson and it totally made me crush on him. (Hello! Daniel Jackson is WONDERFUL, so anyone who reminds me of Daniel Jackson is also going to be WONDERFUL. Obviously.)
I love how strong Nim is, and the fact that she can (mostly) fend for herself when her father gets lost at sea. I love that she’s so trusting of most people (except if they belong to the Troppo Tours group). And I love that her best friends are a sea lion and an iguana – and a sea turtle!
This is the type of book that I would have devoured when I was a kid, and I’m sorry that I’ve only just read it for the first time now!
The Bottom Line
An utterly adorable book – now I want to watch the movie! There is a sequel to it, Nim at Sea, but this book works very well as a stand-alone that I don’t feel I necessarily need to read the sequel. Would highly recommend this book to girls – whether they are young girls, or just still girls-at-heart. show less
One day, her father (a scientist) heads off on a three-day trip to study plankton, and leaves Nim in charge of the island… but, after a crazy storm, he doesn’t return. Nim turns to her new email pal, Alex, for help. Alex is determined to find Nim’s island as quickly as possible so she can help Nim while her father is missing… unfortunately, the only people that Alex has been able to find that are willing to help her get to Nim’s island, are the same ones that Nim and her father have been trying to show more protect their island from…
The Response
Oh, cuteness abounds!
I read this book through twice, once right after the other, because Nim is one of the cutest girls in the history of adorable girls. And her father reminds me of a Daniel Jackson and it totally made me crush on him. (Hello! Daniel Jackson is WONDERFUL, so anyone who reminds me of Daniel Jackson is also going to be WONDERFUL. Obviously.)
I love how strong Nim is, and the fact that she can (mostly) fend for herself when her father gets lost at sea. I love that she’s so trusting of most people (except if they belong to the Troppo Tours group). And I love that her best friends are a sea lion and an iguana – and a sea turtle!
This is the type of book that I would have devoured when I was a kid, and I’m sorry that I’ve only just read it for the first time now!
The Bottom Line
An utterly adorable book – now I want to watch the movie! There is a sequel to it, Nim at Sea, but this book works very well as a stand-alone that I don’t feel I necessarily need to read the sequel. Would highly recommend this book to girls – whether they are young girls, or just still girls-at-heart. show less
Nim and her father live alone on a tropical island. When a storm delays Jack from returning from a scientific trip, Nim has to rely upon herself, her animal friends -- an iguana, a sea-lion and a turtle -- and a satellite email connection to a correspondent of her father’s.
This was published back in 1999 and although I'd read other books by Orr, I'd never read this one or saw the film adaptation. A librarian recommended it for reading aloud to my class and it was an excellent choice. I thought the prose was delightful and evocative, and my students were engaged by the story.
This was published back in 1999 and although I'd read other books by Orr, I'd never read this one or saw the film adaptation. A librarian recommended it for reading aloud to my class and it was an excellent choice. I thought the prose was delightful and evocative, and my students were engaged by the story.
This is one of several reviews I wrote for the late Secular Homeschooling Magazine. We ran an article about homeschoolers in fiction, and I rated a lot of YA novels based on how good they were and how well they handled homeschooling. Mostly, homeschoolers were hauled out as the reliable weirdos in story after story; but it was still fun to do lots of reading and call it my job.
So: Nim's Island.
Category: Oceanic-adventure unschooling.
Summary: Nim Rusoe lives with her scientist father Jack on a secret island. They have all the technology they need to make them happy and keep them in touch with the rest of the world when necessary. (Jack sells the occasional article electronically, and orders in supplies once a year.)
When Jack goes off to show more collect plankton for a few days, Nim decides to stay home with the animals -- a sea lion named Selkie and an iguana named Fred. (The drawings of Fred are killer adorable. Actually, all of Kerry Millard's line drawings are worth the price of the book so far as I'm concerned.) Adventures ensue, including Nim surviving a volcanic eruption and rescuing a famous writer.
Conclusion: When your paradise-island-dwelling father wonders aloud if he's being selfish by depriving you of a "normal" life, tell him he's out of his mind and stay on the awesome island.
Rating as a novel: Lots of fun for all ages.
Rating as a novel about homeschooling and/or homeschoolers: Ditto. show less
So: Nim's Island.
Category: Oceanic-adventure unschooling.
Summary: Nim Rusoe lives with her scientist father Jack on a secret island. They have all the technology they need to make them happy and keep them in touch with the rest of the world when necessary. (Jack sells the occasional article electronically, and orders in supplies once a year.)
When Jack goes off to show more collect plankton for a few days, Nim decides to stay home with the animals -- a sea lion named Selkie and an iguana named Fred. (The drawings of Fred are killer adorable. Actually, all of Kerry Millard's line drawings are worth the price of the book so far as I'm concerned.) Adventures ensue, including Nim surviving a volcanic eruption and rescuing a famous writer.
Conclusion: When your paradise-island-dwelling father wonders aloud if he's being selfish by depriving you of a "normal" life, tell him he's out of his mind and stay on the awesome island.
Rating as a novel: Lots of fun for all ages.
Rating as a novel about homeschooling and/or homeschoolers: Ditto. show less
I adored this tale of a brave little girl surviving on her own on an island, and so did my ELL310 kids. I mean, this book is everything I like about kidlit: plucky female protagonists, an almost-fantastical but still probable setting, fun animal friends, details on the daily routines of living "off the grid."
A fun read, with a heroine who is not only brave and resourceful, but helps a shy woman to develop her own inner resources. It is entertaining and touching in parts, especially for girls and mothers, but I think plot relies heavily on technology which may eventually date the text. Also, while it's good to see a girl who is an active hero in a story, the plot resolution really relied on underlying gender stereotypes. This bothered me particularly as it was subtle and aimed at children.
This was awesome! Entirely improbable, but awesome! I was sucked in at the first mention of marine iguana. Nim lives with her dad on a remote tropical island, and when he sails off for a few day's scientific study, Nim stays home with her animal friends. The delight lies in the day to day description of Nim's island life, as well as in the adventures she faces before her father returns.
I was fun watching the growing misunderstanding between Nim and her email correspondent. Nim and Alex were both wonderfully voiced by the audio book narrator.
I was fun watching the growing misunderstanding between Nim and her email correspondent. Nim and Alex were both wonderfully voiced by the audio book narrator.
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Author Information
46+ Works 3,300 Members
Wendy Orr is the author of Rescue on Nim's Island which made the Wilderness Society 2015 children's book award shortlist in the category of Fiction. Her book, Dragonfly Song, was a joint winner of the 2017 Prime Minister's Literary Awards for children's nonfiction. Dragonfly Song also won the 2018 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, show more Children's literature. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Nim's Island
- Original publication date
- 1999
- People/Characters*
- Jack Russo; Nim Russo; Alex Rover; Selkie (Seelöwin); Fred (Leguan); Chiga (Schildkröte) (show all 7); Galileo (Fregattvogel)
- Related movies
- Nim's Island (2008 | IMDb)
- Dedication*
- Dank an meine Eltern, die ihre Logbücher und Fotoalben ausgegraben haben, um mich bei "Wie versteckt man eine Insel?" zu unterstützen. Und auch an meine gesamte Familie, meine Freunde und all meine Internet-Bekanntschaften,... (show all) die mit großer Geduld Fragen nach Kokosnüssen, pfeifenden Muscheln und gebrochenen Rudern beantwortet haben.
- First words*
- Mitten im weiten, blauen Ozean lag eine Insel; auf dieser Insel stand eine Palme und hoch oben auf dieser Palme saß ein Mädchen.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Du kannst die Kosten dafür von dem riesigen Vorschuss abziehen, den du mir für mein nächstes Buch zahlen wirst wirst. Dein Alex
- Original language*
- Englisch
- Disambiguation notice
- Per WorldCat, ISBN 014131138X is for The Twits by Roald Dahl
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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