My Side of the Mountain
- Downloads：9593
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-05 06:54:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jean Craighead George
- ISBN：0142401110
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block。 Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York。 There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree， with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival。 In a spellbinding， touching， funny account， Sam learns to live off the land， and grows up a little in the process。 Blizzards， hunters， loneliness， and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life。 But his desire for freedom， independence， and adventure is stronger。 No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons。
Jean Craighead George， author of more than 80 children's books， including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves， created another prizewinner with My Side of the Mountain--a Newbery Honor Book， an ALA Notable Book， and a Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book。 Astonishingly， she wrote its sequel， On the Far Side of the Mountain， 30 years later， and a decade after that penned the final book in the trilogy， Frightful's Mountain， told from the falcon's point of view。 George has no doubt shaped generations of young readers with her outdoor adventures of the mind and spirit。 （Ages 9 to 12） --Emilie Coulter
Reviews
David
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This was a great audiobook for a road trip with younger children。 The perspective of reading this as a parent is certainly different than reading it as a child， but it ignites a desire to be outdoors for both。
Jeanette
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"Fortunately， the sun has a wonderfully glorious habit of rising every morning。 When the sky lightened， when the birds awoke， I knew I would never again see anything so splendid as the round red sun coming up over the earth。" （18）"I cooked supper， and then sat down by my little fire and called a forum。 it is very sociable inside my head， and I have perfected the art of getting a lot of people arguing together in silence or in a forum， as I prefer to call it。 I can get four people all talking at "Fortunately， the sun has a wonderfully glorious habit of rising every morning。 When the sky lightened， when the birds awoke， I knew I would never again see anything so splendid as the round red sun coming up over the earth。" （18）"I cooked supper， and then sat down by my little fire and called a forum。 it is very sociable inside my head， and I have perfected the art of getting a lot of people arguing together in silence or in a forum， as I prefer to call it。 I can get four people all talking at once， and a fifth can be present， but generally I can't get him to talk。" （159） 。。。more
Lindsay
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The last time I read this book was in elementary school 。 。 。 so a loong time ago。 Dug this one out to listen to with the kids。 Because we love camping this was fun to revisit。 I am always surprised when my kids enjoy these classic books - not as much action as current books and a LOT of long descriptions of random stuff。
Trish
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My grandsons love this book， and they would give it 5 stars。 It would work told like a fantasy， but it’s just impossible as a realistic survival book。
Elizabeth Reid
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My kids and I loved this one。 I would have given it five stars， but the ending really disappointed us。 Maybe we need to read the next two books and see if they change our minds。
Susan Leifker
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My childhood heart goes out to this book
Steve
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Tired of living with his parents and 8 siblings in a cramped New York City apartment 12 year old Sam Gribley runs away to his great-grandfathers abandoned farm in the Catskills to live off the land。 Sam uses his own ingenuity and book knowledge and observations of the animal behavior around him to live off the land by hunting， fishing， and using abandoned poacher deer。 Sam makes a few friend and eventually misses his family who show up at the end of this book moving to the farm。 A great elementa Tired of living with his parents and 8 siblings in a cramped New York City apartment 12 year old Sam Gribley runs away to his great-grandfathers abandoned farm in the Catskills to live off the land。 Sam uses his own ingenuity and book knowledge and observations of the animal behavior around him to live off the land by hunting， fishing， and using abandoned poacher deer。 Sam makes a few friend and eventually misses his family who show up at the end of this book moving to the farm。 A great elementary fiction read that I wish I had read when I was a cub scout and would have been more able to enjoy this story （as an adult I saw things fall into place for Sam to such an extent that there is no real tension in the story） written around observations of the natural world around Sam and the joy of living off of the land。 。。。more
Justice
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I enjoyed reading this but the way that the author skipped times and went back to them on later chapters confused some of the things that I read。 I would like to read the other books to the series though。
Tyler S
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Overall i would say this is a pretty good book but to me the ending was not what i would of liked。 But still a great book neverthless。
Landen Boggs
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There was a lot of interesting events in this book， however， I did not like the end when Sam's entire family shows up。 If there is a second book to this， I would love to read it。 As long as there is not much being said about his families thoughts。 There was a lot of interesting events in this book， however， I did not like the end when Sam's entire family shows up。 If there is a second book to this， I would love to read it。 As long as there is not much being said about his families thoughts。 。。。more
Eric J F1
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May 25:Many people believe that independence is the the only attribute of life that one needs， and finding this attribute will lead to an ultimate happiness。 However， this is not true。 Being all independent and alone， we will never be able to joy for long， for no one is there to talk to us。 We need others like us to not be alone， and that， is the ultimate attribute of life， not independence and isolation。 In Jean Craighead George’s novel My SIDE of the MOUNTAIN， Sam Gribely comes of age by reali May 25:Many people believe that independence is the the only attribute of life that one needs， and finding this attribute will lead to an ultimate happiness。 However， this is not true。 Being all independent and alone， we will never be able to joy for long， for no one is there to talk to us。 We need others like us to not be alone， and that， is the ultimate attribute of life， not independence and isolation。 In Jean Craighead George’s novel My SIDE of the MOUNTAIN， Sam Gribely comes of age by realizing that being independent does not bring him the ultimate happiness for the rest of his life， but having human companions around does， though。 。。。more
Kathleen Flynn
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I read this book as a child， and was inspired to read again after a recent trip to the Catskills， where I went for a hike in the town of Delhi， and found there were some trails named in honor of the characters in this book， because Delhi is mentioned there， as the nearest town to the forest where this story is set。 Mostly what I remembered from that earlier reading was that a boy ran away from New York City， lived in a hollowed-out tree， and made pancakes out of acorn flour。 Even as a child， I t I read this book as a child， and was inspired to read again after a recent trip to the Catskills， where I went for a hike in the town of Delhi， and found there were some trails named in honor of the characters in this book， because Delhi is mentioned there， as the nearest town to the forest where this story is set。 Mostly what I remembered from that earlier reading was that a boy ran away from New York City， lived in a hollowed-out tree， and made pancakes out of acorn flour。 Even as a child， I thought Sam Gribley's transition to the wilderness life of a hunter-gatherer improbably smooth。 This impression was even stronger reading it now。 But My Side of the Mountain， written in the 1950s in the shadow of the Cold War and the prospect of nuclear holocaust， is a fable， and must be read as such: pure wish-fulfillment。 A dream of an unspoiled world of nature that he can simply return to， even as he is spoiling it himself。 。。。more
Sauls Audiobooks
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Been a favorite of mine since I was a kid。 Still one of my favorites today。 We have all had that want to leave society and live on our own， some of us have even wanted it to be alone in the wild。 This story reflects that， along with all the hardships that would come of it。My audiobook link， if allowed to be on here:https://www。youtube。com/playlist？list。。。 Been a favorite of mine since I was a kid。 Still one of my favorites today。 We have all had that want to leave society and live on our own， some of us have even wanted it to be alone in the wild。 This story reflects that， along with all the hardships that would come of it。My audiobook link， if allowed to be on here:https://www。youtube。com/playlist？list。。。 。。。more
Cara
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I liked this a lot as a kid。 As an adult， it's very meh。 I liked this a lot as a kid。 As an adult， it's very meh。 。。。more
Jenny
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My Side of the Mountain proved to be a perfect car audiobook。 Despite knowing the story （Peter had read it to them a few months ago）， all my children were utterly enthralled， and once it ended， audibly wondered how I could ever find them another audiobook as interesting。 In one of my book groups， I asked about the sequels， which I haven't read yet， and they received resounding praise， so we'll be trying those next。 But I was also warned that they tended to inspire children to run off to live in My Side of the Mountain proved to be a perfect car audiobook。 Despite knowing the story （Peter had read it to them a few months ago）， all my children were utterly enthralled， and once it ended， audibly wondered how I could ever find them another audiobook as interesting。 In one of my book groups， I asked about the sequels， which I haven't read yet， and they received resounding praise， so we'll be trying those next。 But I was also warned that they tended to inspire children to run off to live in the woods， which can sometimes result in a massive police search before said children turn up again。 Thankfully， the girls assured me they like to read about living in the woods， but they prefer their own beds at night， so I think we're safe to carry on with Sam and his adventures。 。。。more
Lmransom
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I still love this book。 Pure fantasy！
Abri
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This book is definitely suited for younger readers， but overall it was a peaceful read。 It still manages to be beautifully written without being complexly worded and follows a well-paced timeline of events。 The book does not have much overarching plot， nor much action， which is why I think the best word to describe it is peaceful -- it is mostly just our very loveable main character （and he is very loveable。 He is a shining highlight！） describing the nature around him， and his thoughts about his This book is definitely suited for younger readers， but overall it was a peaceful read。 It still manages to be beautifully written without being complexly worded and follows a well-paced timeline of events。 The book does not have much overarching plot， nor much action， which is why I think the best word to describe it is peaceful -- it is mostly just our very loveable main character （and he is very loveable。 He is a shining highlight！） describing the nature around him， and his thoughts about his life。 Two things that are keeping me from rating this book 5 stars: Firstly， at points， the book can come off a little monotone。 It often seems the same things happen multiple times， and while I understand why， narratively， this happens， it can become familiar。 Secondly， god， what a disappointing ending！ What a sudden change in tone！ This book has a frankly upsetting ending for both the main character who I'd grown to love and root for， and for me personally as the reader。 No spoilers， but just an FYI if you're a real sucker for a happy， full-circle ending: It's not here。 。。。more
Margaret
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Loved it when I was a kid and really loved it now。 I was fascinated to learn that the author’s brothers were two of the first falconers here in the US。 I have always been fascinated by birds of prey。 Maybe because of this story about Frightful I read when I was a kid。 Highly recommended for kids and adults。 It is about a different time but it is in a way a timeless story。
Michelle
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This book gave me insight into the fantasy of boys who love nature and independence。 A good quick escape。 Also， a reminder of our abilities to be self reliant and sustainable。
Chloe
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It's an amazing book but things came too easy for Sam like I think it's harder to train a falcon than what he did。 It's an amazing book but things came too easy for Sam like I think it's harder to train a falcon than what he did。 。。。more
Sarah
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This book feels like a happy little meditation。 Whenever I begin to feel stressed by the （many， many） responsibilities of life， I put on this audiobook and feel instantly。。。 improved。 It's nothing more than a play-by-play of a kid who runs away from home to live on the side of a mountain。 The things he builds， hunts and observes。 All in all， an enjoyable， highly escapist read。 This book feels like a happy little meditation。 Whenever I begin to feel stressed by the （many， many） responsibilities of life， I put on this audiobook and feel instantly。。。 improved。 It's nothing more than a play-by-play of a kid who runs away from home to live on the side of a mountain。 The things he builds， hunts and observes。 All in all， an enjoyable， highly escapist read。 。。。more
Sarah McCraley
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A marvelous good book。 Such a fun read！
Allison Pickett
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My Side of the Mountain is a dreamy sort of book about running away into the woods and surviving on your own。 Because， who hasn’t imagined that from the time they were younger and even as we grow up？ It was full of lovely details that speak directly to my naturalist heart。 My kids will love to read this one。
Dillion Maddy
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Amazing， like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen， just less action， very descriptive， illustrations， and a very detail oriented author， and the author knowing so much on the topic just makes it seem even more realistic。
Betsy
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Loved this book。 After the last book I listened to， I needed the escape。
Tiffany Atwood
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The boys and I loved this one。 Perfect morning-time read-aloud♥️
Krystal
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Several of my kids have read and enjoyed this， so I decided it was time to give it a go as a read aloud。 Well， listen aloud， we did Audible in the car 😉 I’d say it falls under Nature Lore as a category， and is similar in style to a Little House book， describing all the processes in which things get done， only instead of a farm， it’s a boy living alone in a hollowed out tree in the mountains with a trained hawk for company。 Our whole family enjoyed it and we will probably continue on with the res Several of my kids have read and enjoyed this， so I decided it was time to give it a go as a read aloud。 Well， listen aloud， we did Audible in the car 😉 I’d say it falls under Nature Lore as a category， and is similar in style to a Little House book， describing all the processes in which things get done， only instead of a farm， it’s a boy living alone in a hollowed out tree in the mountains with a trained hawk for company。 Our whole family enjoyed it and we will probably continue on with the rest of the series at some point。 。。。more
Sarah
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Bought for a nephew & re-read it before I gave it to him。 The story still holds up for me。 I still fantasize of running away to live in a tree！
Karen
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My students wish this book had 100 chapters。
Danielle
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It's nice reading something Hailey enjoyed。 It's nice reading something Hailey enjoyed。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=My Side of the Mountain
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=My Side of the Mountain&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft