My Favorite Book from My Childhood

I used to love when the Scholastic book fair was held at our school!  Mom would send me with money and I would do my best to spend every dime on books.  The book I most remember purchasing from the book fair and my favorite book as a child was Island of the Blue Dolphins.  I think I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I bought this book and I read it at least 10 times before I reached the 8th grade.  And I think I read it one more time during high school just for fun. 
I no longer remmeber the characters' names but the storyline and the vivid images created in my mind as I read the book are forever embedded in my memory.  The book tells the story of a young native girl that finds herself living alone on a deserted Pacific Island she once shared with a large tribe.  It describes how she survives and eventually becomes reunited with her tribe.  It also gives very vivid descriptions of the island's terrain, its animal inhabitants, and the waters surrounding it.  I loved this book because when I felt stuck in seemingly drab central Alabama with parents tennling me what to do and two younger siblings always needing something, I could pick up this book and take a vacation to a beautiful place inhabited by only one person.  Then I would imagine how lonely that would be and come back to reality with an appreciation for the love and beauty in my surroundings.