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Nim's Island
(Nim #1)
by
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
...more
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Paperback, 128 pages
Published
June 11th 2002
by Yearling
(first published 1999)
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Jim Harrison
I thought it was great. The location was perfect.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Nim's Island (Nim #1)

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 se ...more
So: Nim's Island.
Category: Oceanic-adventure unschooling.
Summary: Nim Rusoe lives with her scientist father Jack on a se ...more

Omg I loved this! This is what I wanted Pippi Longstocking to be but it wasn't. Can't wait to read it in a couple of years with the munchkin.
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I read this book to my second graders and we all enjoyed it. Even the boys liked it, which was a concern when I first pulled it out and overheard comments from some of them about it being a "girl's book." I guess anything with a girl as the main character qualifies as a girl's book. The fact that she had a machete early on in the book seemed to help tremendously.
In my children's lit class a few years back, we discussed the fact that many beloved children's novels center around characters who ha ...more
In my children's lit class a few years back, we discussed the fact that many beloved children's novels center around characters who ha ...more

Mar 09, 2008
Bianca
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Jeana
Shelves:
adventure-books,
i-loved-these-books
I would give this book a hundred stars if I could. I liked it because I am a girl who likes adventure, and it was about adventure.

This is officially the last book in my "2017 Lite and Fluffy" reading challenge. I think a very young YA (maybe even juvenile) is the perfect ending. I loved the movie "Nim's Island" it was fun and just the right amount of scary for young children. The book was equally enjoyable and kept my attention. I hope that doesn't say something negative about me. It was just a good story.
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Apr 03, 2008
Christina
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kids-books-picture-books,
2008
I read this book to my students. Many of them were excited about the movie. I tried to convince them that the movie we create in our heads when we read is better than the one we see when someone else creates it. They loved it!

Aug 06, 2012
Isabelle Miles
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Girls who love adventure
Recommended to Isabelle by:
I saw the movie
I read a book called Nim's Island by one of my new favorite authors named Wendy Orr. It's about a girl named Nim. Her mom and dad are scientists, and when Nim was 1 her mom went to study a whale's stomach. Nim's mom was swallowed by the whale and never seen again. Nim's dad decided to sail the ocean to look for the whale that swallowed his wife. They sailed the ocean for 3 years, and then Nim's dad decided that Nim was ready to explore more than just the small sailboat. They stopped on a beautif
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Dec 06, 2016
Ivonne Rovira
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Ivonne by:
Audible Sale
Shelves:
children-literature
Some children’s books are what I jokingly call “wasted on children” — books so good that adults, too, will adore them: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, The Book Thief, The Little Prince, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Dumb Bunnies, Charlotte's Web, The Magic Thief, Just Grace.
But that doesn’t apply to Wendy Orr’s Nim’s Island? I’m sure that there are 8- to 10-year-olds who will savor this tale of a modern-day The Swiss Family Robinson, but adults ...more
But that doesn’t apply to Wendy Orr’s Nim’s Island? I’m sure that there are 8- to 10-year-olds who will savor this tale of a modern-day The Swiss Family Robinson, but adults ...more

Nim's Island is an easy to read story about an incredible girl who becomes the hero of her own story.
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This was the first book I put on my physical To Read List, recommended by dear Gwyn over four(!) years ago(??) I FINALLY FOUND A COPY AND READ IT AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT. At first I thought it was going to just be a children's book version of the movie (which I also love) but it was a lot more than just the movie, going different directions and was much deeper with Alex (she's a lot more cool and wonderful here). I also am going through a phase currently where I want to live on an island in a tre
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A short but really fun and creative read.
I wish I could live on this island, or at least have discovered this book when I was a kid.
I wish I could live on this island, or at least have discovered this book when I was a kid.

Delightfully fun adventure story
In a palm tree, on an island, in the middle of the wide blue sea, was a girl.
-first sentence
That was what Nim called it, because soccer was the only ball game she'd ever seen a picture of -- and because nobody else has ever thought of a name for a game with a girl, a sea lion, a turtle, and an iguana all trying to be the first to get a floating coconut to shore.
-Chapter 6
Nim loved the ocean because it was always there, wherever she looked and as far as she cou ...more
In a palm tree, on an island, in the middle of the wide blue sea, was a girl.
-first sentence
That was what Nim called it, because soccer was the only ball game she'd ever seen a picture of -- and because nobody else has ever thought of a name for a game with a girl, a sea lion, a turtle, and an iguana all trying to be the first to get a floating coconut to shore.
-Chapter 6
Nim loved the ocean because it was always there, wherever she looked and as far as she cou ...more

Nim's Island was a phenomenal,adventurous,and suspenseful book. The amazing adventures Nim went through were scary and risky to Nim's life. Throughout the story I felt as if I was climbing cliffs with her and going on great adventures with her. I recommend this book to people who like suspenseful,adventurous, and books that keep you on the edge of your seat.I believe you should read this book mostly because the way Nim reacts to problems makes you wish you were there to experience the adventure
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This book is delightful. My ten-year-old daughter and I read it together, and it led us to explore coral reefs, frigate birds, green sea turtles, seaweed and kelp, and seahorses, leafy sea dragons, weedy sea dragons, and pipefish (all members of the genus Hippocampus, which is the only genus where the male gives birth instead of the female.) It was a perfect book for a kiddo who is currently crazy about marine life. It is a clever, exciting adventure with a happy ending.

2017: I love reading this to my second graders every year. When we finished today they clapped and are so excited to watch the movie because they love the book. <3
2018: This year my students all had their own book to read along with. I love sharing this fun story with them and listening to their theories!
2018: This year my students all had their own book to read along with. I love sharing this fun story with them and listening to their theories!

We loved this as a read-aloud book!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did when I was a kid, but it's still pretty cute.
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Also posted on my blog Got My Book.
An enchanting MG Contemporary Fantasy
BOOK DETAILS:
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, read by Kate Reading, published by Blackstone Audio (2008) / Length: 2 hrs 25 min
SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of 3 in the Nim series. It is the only one available on audio.
SUMMARY:
It could be argued that this book is not really fantasy, it is just a book about a very imaginative little girl who is good with animals. That's probably true; but it reads more like a fantasy than a stra ...more
An enchanting MG Contemporary Fantasy
BOOK DETAILS:
Nim's Island by Wendy Orr, read by Kate Reading, published by Blackstone Audio (2008) / Length: 2 hrs 25 min
SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of 3 in the Nim series. It is the only one available on audio.
SUMMARY:
It could be argued that this book is not really fantasy, it is just a book about a very imaginative little girl who is good with animals. That's probably true; but it reads more like a fantasy than a stra ...more

Cute fast read. Nothing phenomenal, but a good reader for an advanced 2nd-3rd grade. My fourth grader was not that impressed, but I bet she would have loved it last year. Oh my children, how fast you grow!

This review was originally shared on Lazy Day Literature.
Nim lives on an uncharted island with her scientist father and her animal pals, Selkie the seal, Fred the iguana, and Chica the sea turtle. One day, her father, Jack, goes off on his boat in search of phytoplankton for his research but gets caught in a storm and cannot return to the island. Meanwhile, Nim has been keeping an eye on her father's email and ends up conversing with Alex Rover, the author of the book she's been reading. They sp ...more
Nim lives on an uncharted island with her scientist father and her animal pals, Selkie the seal, Fred the iguana, and Chica the sea turtle. One day, her father, Jack, goes off on his boat in search of phytoplankton for his research but gets caught in a storm and cannot return to the island. Meanwhile, Nim has been keeping an eye on her father's email and ends up conversing with Alex Rover, the author of the book she's been reading. They sp ...more

This book was chosen as the next "One-Book, One-School" choice for my school, so I wanted to read it ahead of time to be able to discuss it with students when they eventually get their copies. This will definitely work well as a choice for the school due to the adventure and the lack of controversial subject matter (many parents were upset with The One and Only Ivan for their elementary-aged children due to a character's death).
Although I personally thought it was only "okay," I can see many re ...more
Although I personally thought it was only "okay," I can see many re ...more

This is a very sweet story of a simple girl called Nim. She and her father live on an uncharted island and Nim helps her father Jack with his science experiments and research. With Selkie and Fred tagging along for the fun.
Orr has written this in such a beautiful way. There are no sweeping descriptions of the island and panoramic like explanations. They are detailed but short enough that do their job to create the perfect image. In addition, the narration from each characters point of view keeps ...more
Orr has written this in such a beautiful way. There are no sweeping descriptions of the island and panoramic like explanations. They are detailed but short enough that do their job to create the perfect image. In addition, the narration from each characters point of view keeps ...more

My 7 year old is obsessed with this book and its sequel. I found it on a random booklist for 2nd graders and checked it out from the library. Spot on. Family friendly and age appropriate. The movie cover version of this book didn't interest her (that whole book/cover judging thing) but she did pick it up and MAN is it right up her alley so-to-speak. She blew through it and read it over many times in the next couple of weeks while we waited for Nim at Sea to transfer to our library. We watched th
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I’m an author, but I could never have started writing books if I hadn’t loved reading them first. Reading isn’t just one of my favourite things to do; it’s one of the most important things in my life. I can’t imagine a world in which I couldn’t read, every day. That’s why I always read to my children every day, just as my parents used to read to me. Stories can be exciting, sad, funny, scary or co
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