Nim's Island

by Wendy Orr

Book Overview

A girl. An iguana. An island. And e-mail. Meet Nim-a modern-day Robinson Crusoe She can chop down bananas with a machete, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire with a piece of glass. So she's not afraid when her scientist dad sails off to study plankton for three days, leaving her alone on their island. Besides, it's not as if no one's looking after her-she's got a sea lion to mother her and an iguana for comic relief. She also has an interesting...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440418682
• ISBN13: 9780440418689
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A Great Read for Young and Old, alike

This is a great read for children and adults, alike. I read this before giving it to my 7 year old grandaughter and I fell in love with all of the characters and the animals. What a delightful book of an island adventure! It has action, mystery, adventure, excitement and love. It teaches you to use your imagination to visualize the island and its animals. It encourages bravery, commitment and learning about new places and things. Books like this one encourage children to read more. What else can you want from a good book?

If you could bring only one book to an island, would it be this one?

I run a homeschooler bookgroup with incurably picky tastes. The kids love books. They devour them by the cartload. But if you want to get their attention and really get them to love a given book, that book should contain lots of enjoyable cuddly animals. Finding them books of this nature has fast become my life's calling. I want to give them worthwhile reading material on the one hand, but also let them read the kinds of books they can really love on the other. So when, "Nim's Island" fell into my lap it was like manna from heaven. Cute animals? Check. Small pictures for the kids who still need them? Check. Fast-paced enjoyable storyline with a fairly original conceit and wonderful location? Check, check, and check. All in all, "Nim's Island" could have been written purely for the sake of giving kids books they'd really like to read. It's fun and funny and when it comes to bookgroups, few titles are more ideal than this. Nim Rusoe and her father don't live your ordinary life. Some people dream of a tropical island entirely of their own. Nim and her father Jack live that dream. When her mother was taken to the bottom of the ocean by a whale (all do to a tourism company's interference), Nim's father picked up his baby girl and took her to a remote isle hidden away behind deadly coral reefs. There, Nim has grown up alongside the motherly sea lion Selkie and her best iguana pal, Fred. Now her father, a scientist specializing in plankton, has gone off to find a particularly interesting strain. He'll only be gone a day or two and Nim should be safe enough on the island. Should be. Unfortunately, when Jack's boat gets delayed by a break, things start to get dangerous for Nim. Invading tourists and tropical storms and even an injury may beset our heroine, but with the help of her mighty faithful friends, our heroine is able to best each of these problems, one by one. The book gives obvious nods to "Robinson Crusoe" and "Swiss Family Robinson", of course. So obvious, in fact, that at one point both books are literally looked at by one of the characters. When I first picked up the book I expected something more along the lines of the latter book rather than the former. Not the case. Right at the beginning we establish that the tourism company Troppo Tourists was responsible for Nim's mother's death. So in a way I expected the tourists to besiege the island for days on end once Jack took off the other way. Instead, the fooling and banishment of the tourists is a very small part of the book itself. Author Wendy Orr knows exactly how she wants this book to go, and its entirely according to her own authorial whims. Orr takes time to explain the inner-workings of the island. Where Nim gets her food. Her chores. How she gets to play. The result is that the island is a realistic place. Kids reading the book really believe that they could exist entirely on their own with sea lions, iguanas, and sea turtles for company if the

A Paradise

In this book Wendy Orr describes the island very well. It has helped me describe things in my writing. Nim's mother died. She had drowned, and was never seen again. Nim has a long adventure while her father is away. Nim has her pet iguana and mother-like friend, Selkie to help her along the way. One day Nim answers her dad's email, and starts emailing her online friend, Alex (Alexandera). Alex is an author. Nim and alex build a strong relationship. If you would like to hear the wonderful endig, read the book. I read this book for the global reading challege, but I still enjoyed this descriptive tale of a girl named Nim alot.

NiM's HoMe AwAy FrOm HoMe

This book is a book that you should read if you didnt get to yet. If you didn't I will tell you only a little bit of it because I don't want to give the whole story away. This book is kinda about a girl named Nim she lives on a island with her Dad she dosen't live with her Mom because she died when Nim was little. Also Nim lives with animlas on the island but I can name them all. If u haven't read this book and you want to all I'm going to say is you will love this book. If you like to.

Best Book I've Ever Read

It is the best book I've ever read, and I've read lots of books. It is exciting but not too scarey. It's got animals in it (I'm a great fan of animals). The vocabulary is easy and the story zips along. The characters are realistic enough to make the story seem true. It makes me feel excited, like I am going to go to Nim's island. It has a good sense of humor but not so funny that the humor takes away the sense of adventure. The only thing that could be better is if there are more books about Nim! I think that this book is suited for all ages above 5. Anyone with a taste for adventure and who appreciates the beauty of nature will love this book.