Music of Dolphins

Music of Dolphins

I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Music of Dolphins’ and I hope you did as well. There are so many themes in this book including the need for humans to belong. Mila felt that she didn’t really belong in the human world even though she was learning the English language and the ways of our human world. Sometimes when people don’t feel like they belong or fit in, it is difficult for them to function, learn and feel good about themselves. I think that is why, ultimately, Mila wanted to return to the ocean. It was her home and where she felt comfortable with her dolphin family. What are some others themes that are going on in this story? Try to explain your thoughts and why you think the way you do. Share any other connections, ‘aha’ moments or realizations, just as you did in our group conversation today. I so enjoyed hearing about how your interpreted the events of this book.

I also found three different book covers for the novel which are all different. Have a look and share your thinking.

Music of Dolphins Cover One

Music of Dolphins Cover Two

Music of Dolphins Cover Three

61 Replies to “Music of Dolphins”

  1. I think this book was really interesting and appealing to me.It was a sad story that reminds me of awful things that happened and are still happening in the world today.From abusing children to selfish governments.It really disappoints me that humans today are locking up and abusing children the way the way they shouldn’t be.One day hopefully some day the humans who are selfish and make our world nasty at times mend their ways.Also I hope the some governments around the world will also start caring for children and human who are lost and hurt and instead start making them feel worse by collecting their good for nothing information.However I am also really happy that a lot of governments are not like that,and help make countries stronger and better.This book taught me a lot and was a really pleasant book for young readers.I hope in the future I come across these ind of books again

  2. I haven’t read the full book, so I’m hoping to read more of it after I find it.
    But I think the theme is around the ocean or maybe around freedom. I think this book is about freedom because Mila got captured and she wants to go back to the ocean. I think Mila wants to be free because she misses her dolphin friends and the ocean. The first parts I read was very intresting. I need to finish the book, so I still don’t know much about Mila.

      1. I did not know that Justin likes music . Now I know. Matbe you could have added why Mila loves music? I really like that you added a lot of details.

    2. I hope you will be able to finish the book.I agree the book has a big chunk of information about freedom.Mila and Shay just want to live their own lives in their own ways but the doctors aren’t ltting them choose

  3. INDEPENDECE

    I think that the theme of the story is independence. Why independence you say? Well independence is a large part of this book. Mila has to face a lot of difficult challenges. . Mila was from her dolphin family. That shows a lot of independence to me. Then she was taken to the human world. Where she had nobody to talk to about her problems and she has to deal with them by herself. Mila is trying to gain independence by not eating and not writing in her journal. She also started to get anger and start punching the walls. Her wrists/hands started to bleed. This is why I think that independence is a large part of the book. Mila showed a lot of independence through the book. That is why I think that this book was so interesting and amazing of course there were a lot more then on theme, but I chose independence because it stood up to me the most.

    1. I agree independence is part of the book.Though the doctors try to help her a lot in understanding how to act in the human world.Also she is not independent in the ocean.She has so many dolphins to learn,play and stay with.Like her dolphin aunt,dolphin mother and her dolphin cousins

    2. Manish I agree with you that independence was a big part of this book. When Mila was taken from her dolphin family that she knew that there would be a challenge for her a head of life. Mila did show a lot of strength in this book.

    5. I disagree with you Manish because even when Mila was with dolphins they took care of her and with humans they helped her learn but otherwise I think I that you had a good proven point about independence and the book.

  4. One theme I thought of was interesting was music. Mila wrapped herself around music, she loved the musician Mozart because he was one of the most popular musician, his music made Mila feel free and not worry about what is happening to her in the lad where she was being taked care of and studied. The reason why I think the theme was because Dr. Beck gave Mila a recorder for a present and she played and played the recorder. Mila LOVES music and so does Justin.

    1. I agree with you that music was a big part of the story.In the beginning that was the only link that she had with the human world that she likes.Music always made her feel happy and made her belong in the human world.It is sad when her recorder breaks,because than all her happiness in the human world is gone.Than her desire of going to the ocean is happier than ever.

  5. I have to admit Madhav has a point either the parents are drunk on drugs or the mother/father just hate their child. No one should be treated horribly especially children. Sometimes parents abandon their children or they die in a plane crash and children(if they are lucky enough to survive and find land they will probably die.)

    2. I think that the parents just didn’t want shay overall. They probably didn’t want the hassle of taking care of a child. Having kids is ALOT of work.

  6. I really liked Music of Dolphins it was really sad because Mila didn’t know how to communicate with other people. It was really hard for her to speak English. When she met Shay she was really sad and lonely but after a couple of days they started talking so I really liked the book.

  7. I really enjoyed reading The Music Of Dolphins. I think the theme was belonging because Mila felt as though she didn’t belong in the human world. People didn’t think of her as the wonderful human girl Mila. They thought of her as a dolphin girl and a specimen. Mila wasn’t the only person in the story who felt they didn’t belong. Shay and Justin did too. Justin felt as if his mother didn’t care about him, and Shay was locked up in the dark for a long time. I wonder what went through Shay’s head when she finally came out of the darkness? I think Mila and Shay had a right to learn what they wanted, to do what they wanted, to have freedom, and be loved.
    This reminds me of a well written book I read called ‘The One and Only Ivan”. In the story, Ivan was a gorilla, who was locked up in a small dome in a mall and video arcade. Ivan was lonely and trapped in his cage. Later on, a baby elephant came to the mall. Ivan realised that the mall was not a good place for the poor baby elephant to stay in. I had a connection to M.O.D because Ivan and the baby elephant were being locked in one place, and being abused by their owner of the arcade. I’m really happy that in the end, Mila felt love again from her dolphin family, and Shay had a family too.

    1. I agree.It is sad that people only want to see her because she is a dolphin girl.No wonder she wants to go back to the sea.If I was her I would definitely feel the same way as her.I liked your connection with the one and only ivan.

    3. I agree Alexis, I feel that Shay should get a little more attention because she wasn’t happy being locked up in a dark room , but Mila was happy with her dolphin family . If I was Shay I wouldn’t feel very happy at all.

  8. I think the message in this book is to follow your heart. I think this because in Mila’s heart she wanted to go back to the sea, and everybody else but Justin wanted her to stay and learn the English language. So in the end they let Mila got to go back to the sea.

  9. I really in joyed this book. This book was full of joyful moments to horrible sad moment this book really touched me. This book had themes from all over the place but I think the main theme was that there are problems all over the world and that who its happening to has to step out of there shadow and stand up for them selves. There was another theme that stood out to me that everyone needs to follow there heart. This reminds me of the time when I would do what ever my brother did but after a couple of months I started following what my heart felt. Some parts of this book I thought that government needs to stop being selfish and I started to think that they like Mila because she was dolphin girl not normal girl. This made me think a lot and inspired me to follow my heart in a lot of cases.

    1. I agree that the government was careless. They didn’t care if Mila was away from the family that loved her most, and that she was locked in her own room! I cant imagine being locked in one room, like a prison cell.

    2. I have the exact same thoughts as you.It is terrible and horrifying things to people.Their are some people who are afraid to follow their heart and that should not happen,that is the result of abusing,capturing and selfishness.I hope it will be better in the world some day.And everyone will be free.

    3. Its kind of like a life cycle peace at sea, then taken away from her dolphin family, after put in a facility were Mila is forced to learn. After all of that she was able to return to her dolphin family.

  10. The music of dolphins was an exciting book to read. How did the coast guard find Mila? At first I thought everything was going to be smooth but the suddenly Mila has been taken away from her dolphin family. I thought Mila was going to fit in perfectly with the human world but instead something else happened to her . Mila has been treated nicely then had been treated horribly. Mila doesn’t feel right in the human world. Shay is gone, Mila’s dolphin family is gone everything from Mila is gone. On the good side Mila got to see Shay one last time. At first Mila loved the human world but then Mila feels like she’s being torched. Finally the doctor’s deicide they would go on a boat ride for Mila to cheer up. Mila finally found her dolphin family but the doctors didn’t want Mila to go with the dolphins. Justin let Mila go to the ocean with her dolphin family and everything was back to normal.

  11. When I read The Music of Dolphins book, I saw all the obstacles and emotion that Mila had to face to get back to her dolphin family. When I read the book, I saw the theme that Karen Hesse put out was that ” you are what you think you are and not what other people say you are”. I thought that message was very powerful because only Justin could see Mila for herself and no one else could see her. I couldn’t see her at first but around the middle, I saw that she was a dolphin girl and not a human girl. Even if she is human, she want’s to be a dolphin girl and that’s where she is used to be. It was very hard for Mila to get that message to everyone else, that she was a dolphin girl. Now I understand that she is the dolphin girl and that is who she want’s to be.

  12. I enjoyed this book because it had a good storyline. I think the theme of this story is music and where you belong to because since Mila lived with dolphins, the dolphins whistle may sound like music to Mila. Before Mila was found, she didn’t know what music was so every sound, almost every sound, she would think it sounded sensational and astonishing. I think the only sound that she thinks is ugly, is the sound of machines. After she is found and brought to a research center, the doctors that teach her give her some music to listen to. From that point on she always loved music so Doctor Beck gave her a recorder. I think this is about knowing where you belong because as soon as Mila got to the research center, she knew she didn’t belong. At first she didn’t realize that she didn’t belong but soon after she was locked in her room, she realized she was trapped, trapped in the net of humans. At the end of the book, the doctors and Justin found out that Mila felt like she didn’t belong, so they return Mila to her original home.

  13. Reading the book The Music of Dolphins took me on a curious journey and I loved it . I think that the theme of the book that Karen Hesse was trying to tell was that you should be yourself and don’t be who others want you to be. I think this because everyday Mila was trying to leave and she wanted to go to her dolphin family and the doctors kept telling her that Dr.Beck would get in trouble by the government if she did . At the end of the book they started to understand that Mila was a dolphin and not a human so they can’t change her . This reminds me of a book I read about a girl who was having trouble making friends so she started to act like the popular people in her school. Everyday she would act like somebody else , but the day she just gave up and there was nobody else to act like so she tried being herself and she got a few friends . This reminds me of Mila because whenever she tried to be human and not dolphin she would feel lonely and more upsetting stuff would happen to her , but whenever she was being her dolphin self she would feel more at home and welcome . If I met Mila the only advice I would give her is to be herself because everybody else is taken.

    1. I agree, Isha. The last sentence you said had a lot of meaning to me. Mila was always trying her best to be a dolphin, a girl, or something else. She truly had to be herself for others, and more importantly herself.

  14. I thought the theme was the ocean because at first Mila was raised in the ocean by dolphins at the age of four and in the book she kept talking about the ocean and how she wanted to be free but I thought she liked it her at first with doctor beck and doctor troy and shay and Justin and sandy the only thing I did not like about the book was that she started out at the ocean and then she was with the humans for a year or so and then she went back to the ocean

  15. I think this story was a bit sad. think that Mila was so sad because she missed her dolphin friends and she didn’t fit in. The only time she got a freedom is when her doors to her bedroom got unlocked and the only reason she got that is because Mila refused to eat any thing. Mila was forced to do stuff that she didn’t want to do. She even smiled when she didn’t want to all because she wanted to make her doctors happy! I think that people should not be treated like that it’s very rude. I like the book because it was so interesting. It was devastating at parts but over all the book was awesome! there were some twisted parts that were interesting that I needed to know what was coming up next! I really enjoyed it a lot. I hope you did.

  16. I really enjoyed reading this book,and I think one of the theme of this book is “to be yourself”.I think that’s the theme because when Dr.Beck and Sandy wants Mila to be human and play games on the computer, play the recorder, read books and eat dead food that just waits for you to eat it, and they want Mila to stay in the human world. But Mila feels sad and depressed to be locked up in a room, and she just wants to be in the sea and swim with her dolphin family, and eat fish that swim and are alive! So she wants to be a dolphin and that’s what “herself is,” so Mila didn’t do anything till Dr.Beck set her free, and at the end Justin set her back to the sea with her dolphin family. So she went with her inner heart and be herself. Also for Shay herself is “alone and locked up.” So when Dr.Beck wants Shay to come into the world so fast, she couldn’t stand it. So what I think that if the doctors take it slower, maybe Shay will be not so quite. But her inner self is locked up. So that’s why I think one of the themes of the book is be yourself.

  17. Music of Dolphins was one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. Once I read the first chapter I couldn’t lay my eyes off of it. I think one of the many themes was to be yourself. In the book Mila was captured for research. Mila was forced to talk the English language and do what the government and doctors wanted her to do. Nobody really cared about how Mila felt about being a human. All they wanted to was teach her about humans and make her talk dolphin language. She never got to be herself because she was always herself with her dolphin family, but when she was taken away she had to be human. I think Mila felt frustrated because if I was lot allowed to be myself and forced to be something I’m not, I would be so frustrated that I would hide away never to be seen again. I was super surprised that she wanted to go back. If I as her I would go back too because I wouldn’t want to stay with doctors that change people into something they’re not. I was so glad that at the end she was free to be herself and not have forced to be human. This book really got me sitting on the edge of my chair. I wish that I could read a book that is just as fantastic as this one!

    1. I think Mila felt frustrated too. Especially when she started punching the walls. She probably felt frustrated because she wanted to escape, but she didn’t know how.

  18. I think another theme in The Music of Dolphins is teaching and family.
    Teaching is a theme in this book because when Mila was being raised by dolphins they taught her how to swim, to catch fish, and to survive in the sea. Doctor Beck and Sandy taught Mila to speak English, write in English, color, draw, paint, and many more things including what I think is Mila’s personal favourite, making music on the recorder. Justin taught Mila how to play sports like basketball, soccer and other sports too. I think Mila is a fast learner because she is a determined person who tries hard.
    Family is also a theme in this book because family is someone who cares about you and helps you. I think Mila’s original family used to care for her, but when the plane crash happened, nobody tried to find her. Therefor I think Mila’s true family is her dolphin family because even though she was different, they still took care of her and helped her when other things in the sea tried to drown her, they fed her when she couldn’t catch fish, and carried her when she was to weak to swim. In a way, Docter Beck and Sandy were also her family because even though they wanted to learn to speak dolphin, they released her back into the sea so she could be free with her dolphin family again.

    1. Wow, I never thought of that. Good point. Mila was raised by dolphins, so they probably taught her how to live as one. Also the humans taught her English, too.

  19. This book has a very heart-warming story, a story that isn’t just about a girl who was raised by dolphins, gotten found, brought into the human society, learned the English language, learned the recorder, realized that she does not belong in this world, and returned to the sea. No, this book is deeper than that. Everything that happened in this story has at least one unpredictable twist to it. For example, when she was brought into the human world and forced to learn English, I’m sure she is not willing to, but she did anyways, because she was obedient.

    1. When she learned how to play the recorder, she discovered the joy of music, which really touched her. When she tried to play for Mr.Aradondo, she realized that he may be her grandfather, or someone like a grandfather, which I really wasn’t expecting. At the end, she decided to return to the sea, she realized that she does not belong to the human world if they’re just going to make her do things she doesn’t want to do. So she stood up to the doctors and finally, they let her go. I might not think that it’s that great an idea to let her go, because of everything she could have seen and done in their world, but as long as she is happy. I think it will be awesome for her.

  20. One of the themes that I thought was in the book was follow your heart. I thought it was follow your heart because Mila was happy at first doing all the activities but then she felt like she didn’t have as much freedom as she did when she was in the ocean with her dolphin family. So she started to follow what felt best for her and that was to go back to her dolphin family in the ocean and be free.

  21. This book must have been popular when it was first released ,because it is very interesting. Music of Dolphins shows how you can never take someone away from their home and family. I think this because the rescue crew took Mila from her home and dolphin family.After awhile Mila was growing desperate to go back to her home and family.So desperate she did anything to go back like starve herself, and did what she was told.Until they let see her dolphin family again.I would recommend this book for people who like drama and fiction. I hope they make more books like this one.

  22. I think the most important theme of this book is choice because Mila gets to choose if she wants to stay in the human world were she thinks she doesn’t belong or back to the sea were her dolphin family are there waiting for her to come back. I also think its important because she feels like she’s more free when she with her dolphin family because she doesn’t have to be told what to do or be forced to do things she doesn’t want to do and be lock out from the world.

  23. I think a major theme in this book is the need to be free and yourself. Mila doesn’t want to be locked in no one would she doesn’t want to feel trapped she wants to be free. I think Mila only felt free when she was with Justin or with her dolphin family. Mila wants to be herself and being herself is being like a dolphin, acting like a dolphin, breathing like a dolphin and living like a dolphin. She isn’t forced to do what the doctors want her to do in the ocean she can do what ever she wants. she doesn’t have to be trapped in and she isn’t trapped in the ocean she is free.

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