My Side of the Mountain
- Downloads：6447
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-05 09:54:17
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jean Craighead George
- ISBN：0141312424
- 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
Sarah Watson
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loved it ❤️
Peter Durnan
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I hadn't thought of this book for decades until a conversation by the fire the third night of OB。 We were talking about books， and Merrick Spitzer said that this was his favorite book ever。 I remember when it was my favorite， when I kept it on my nightstand for months and months。 Then Janice Dahl went home for a night during solo and found it at Ladders for a quarter。 Same cover I remember！ That's really all I remembered。 She finished and gave it to me when we got home。 I wolfed it down in a day I hadn't thought of this book for decades until a conversation by the fire the third night of OB。 We were talking about books， and Merrick Spitzer said that this was his favorite book ever。 I remember when it was my favorite， when I kept it on my nightstand for months and months。 Then Janice Dahl went home for a night during solo and found it at Ladders for a quarter。 Same cover I remember！ That's really all I remembered。 She finished and gave it to me when we got home。 I wolfed it down in a day。 It's a remarkable little book， the story of a willful run-away who literally burns himself a home inside an old tree and survives in upstate New York for glorious months。 It's a romantic stretch， but a lovely one。 Great to revisit a book that helped teach me to love reading。 。。。more
Rachel
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Three and a half stars
Stephanie
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yeah， this was terrible。
Karrie Hoag
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Very quick read about a boy who goes to live in the wilderness alone。 Very Island of the Blue Dolphins vibes。 A little unrealistic about his meals at times。
Andy Labra
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Kid runs away from home to live in the wild and parents are apparently okay with it。This kid is the luckiest SOB and one of the smartest that I've ever seen。Everything is so far fetched:He scales a cliff， steals a falcon egg and raises it as its own。 He trains the falcon to hunt for him？ Most people can't train a chihuahua， you're telling me this kid trained an apex predator with zero prior knowledge， c'mon lol！He often goes to a library to do research in order to survive。 Listen， you can maybe Kid runs away from home to live in the wild and parents are apparently okay with it。This kid is the luckiest SOB and one of the smartest that I've ever seen。Everything is so far fetched:He scales a cliff， steals a falcon egg and raises it as its own。 He trains the falcon to hunt for him？ Most people can't train a chihuahua， you're telling me this kid trained an apex predator with zero prior knowledge， c'mon lol！He often goes to a library to do research in order to survive。 Listen， you can maybe figure out what poison ivy looks like so you don't accidentally wipe with it， but this kid turns into Micheline chef with all of the random junk he finds in the woods。 Weeds dripping white stuff from the stem， looks like a great salad dressing！ He would've died of diarrhea on day 1。 I have a hard time picking out avocados。Need shelter？ A normal person would try to creat a house with sticks。 This 17 year old hollows out a billion year old tree and males a bachelor apartment out of it lol。He catches trout with like a rope he made and a wooden， a WOODEN hook。 Whoever wrote this book has clearly never been fishing before。He made snares and caught rabbits。 Made underwear out of their fur。。。Random people ran into him all the time。 Some old lady picking berries that wouldn't mind her business。 Some kid with a leather jacket。 A 30 year old school teacher that was for some reason aimlessly walking around the woods became his friend and repeat visitor。 Hunters would shoot deer and he'd steal them。 How he learned gutt and skin a deer is beyond me。 I watched the process on YouTube once and aside from feeling nauseous， crying， and seeing it done from beginning to end， I still don't know where to begin cutting。 This kid not only did all of this with like a sharp rock or something， he also ate， somehow preserved the meet， but he used the hide for furniture and sewed himself up a full suit with it。A ranger of some sort confiscated his bird？ This guy came out of nowhere。 His dad came to visit said he was proud and left him there。 He later brought the whole family to live in the wild。 Like 3 days later everyone was like the hell with this and all left except for his sister to I guess setup the sequel and appeal to a female audience？ I'm never going to find out lol。The only thing believable about this book was that I know for a fact people exist。This is often compared to one of my all-time favorite books "Hatchet" and I can see why。 They are both about a kid surviving in the woods。 Now， Hatchet is a survival story 100%; it's a quick read and is very well written， you feel as if you're there as it is believable - there are struggles lots of things go wrong - thats how life usually is。 The other side of the mountain is insane from start to finish - the things that go wrong are minimal and end up being for the best in the long run， like I said， this kid is very lucky and apparently a seasoned woodsman。I don't want to put anyone off from reading this。 It is an experience to say the least。 If you are only going to read this or Hatchet， Hatchet wins all day long。I give this a 3。 While it was entertaining for the absurdity of it all， there were parts that dragged on and i didnt car for the interactions with the people。 If it's a survival type book， the only bother people should be hunting me。 I always like to put myself in the place of the character and I know that I would've died several times over were I the main character lol。 。。。more
Cesar
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I loved how Sam ran away from home to explore a new world， his own world and used his survival skills and new friends to continue his journey。 And of course the bond between him and Frightful along the way。
D'Christine
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Just re-read this little gem。 It was one of my favorites as a tween & brought back wonderful memories。
Courtney
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My girls （7， 4， and tagalong 1） and I really enjoyed reading this book together。 We are going to have a book club party with our friends and eat some of the food that Sam ate。 We also attended a falconry event near us to bring this book to life。 My girls love the outdoors so this book was a favorite！
Mackenzie Burke
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Best book everrrr
Adam
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Read this as a kid and recently read it to my son。 Great book， but the last fourish pages were hilarious。 It was like the editor wanted to slap on an ending that didn't make the protagonist's parents seem like derelicts。 My son and I laughed and laughed as we "fixed" the ending by tearing out these pages。 Now My Side of the Mountain ends on the line， "Chicken is good！ It tastes like chicken。" Read this as a kid and recently read it to my son。 Great book， but the last fourish pages were hilarious。 It was like the editor wanted to slap on an ending that didn't make the protagonist's parents seem like derelicts。 My son and I laughed and laughed as we "fixed" the ending by tearing out these pages。 Now My Side of the Mountain ends on the line， "Chicken is good！ It tastes like chicken。" 。。。more
chloe l
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throwback to when we were reading this in 4th grade and I went to by cubby to drink water and doris looked at me and I laughed and spat my water out
Tanisha Soulivong
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I read this book to bring my nostalgia honestly。 It was one of my favorite books I read growing up。 I could read it over again and again。 Makes you want to go out and try to survive， but being an adult now， I know it’s a lot harder than the book makes it seem haha。
Ilyana Bruns
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really liked this book because it's a story of what would happen if a kid ACTUALLY ran away and live in the wild。 Everyone does it， but this boy is different， he goes and lives in a tree， with some company of the wild animals that live on Catskills Mountain。 It is interesting to see how the boy survives on his own and all the things he does to make his new home feel like a real home。 I really liked this book because it's a story of what would happen if a kid ACTUALLY ran away and live in the wild。 Everyone does it， but this boy is different， he goes and lives in a tree， with some company of the wild animals that live on Catskills Mountain。 It is interesting to see how the boy survives on his own and all the things he does to make his new home feel like a real home。 。。。more
Dawn
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A beautiful journey with a sad endingA thrilling， serene and sad commentary on a boy who learns to live as part of the land and the inevitable encroachment of man upon nature。
Clancy
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a fun read！！ makes me miss my childhood running around the woods。
Katelin K
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Admittedly I read half the book。 I actually think it would appeal well to my kids but I had a hard time continuing with it because a more interesting book came along。 Although the book is technically about a kid running from home， which normally I’m not a fan of， I did not have too much a concern about this myself。 There was no particular reason this child ran from home except that he wanted to explore a place he heard his family owned but he had never seen。 It really does feel like you’re seein Admittedly I read half the book。 I actually think it would appeal well to my kids but I had a hard time continuing with it because a more interesting book came along。 Although the book is technically about a kid running from home， which normally I’m not a fan of， I did not have too much a concern about this myself。 There was no particular reason this child ran from home except that he wanted to explore a place he heard his family owned but he had never seen。 It really does feel like you’re seeing what this child imagines he is doing outside while “pretending he ran away”… all the while he’s in his backyard playing make believe in his fort。 As an adult， I can see there’s no way he would’ve able to do it because I think about it too realistically but for a child， it would feel like a big exploration so I can see the appeal。 。。。more
Liam
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I truly enjoyed this book。 Some kids think about running away from home every day。 However Sam Gribley truly runs away from home to the Catskill Mountains。 There he has to learn to survive on his own。 He has to overcome loneliness。 I would recommend this book to people who enjoy the outdoors。
Bex Blasphemous
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I have fond memories of toting around this book as a child saying how I loved this book but never actually reading it because I was too little to read it actually。 But now I can proudly say I’ve read this book and had a delightful time doing so。 It reminds me of my youth in such a nostalgic way I’m glad I decided to read my old copy from when I was a kid。
Marie
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I left New York in May。 I had a penknife， a ball of cord， an ax， and $40… I also had some flint and steelHunger is a funny thing。 It has a kind of intelligence of it’s own。Fortunately， the sun has a wonderfully glorious habit of rising every morning。Spring is terribly exciting when you are living right in it。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。
Nicole Davis
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 My Side Of The Mountain is a great book for people who love the outdoors and have always dreamed of living in the woods。 With great storytelling and wonderful visuals。I loved the evolution of Sam's skills and knowlage， the rought sketches in the book just add on to the fact that the book seems more like a journal then a novel。 With him describing how to do things and writing down encounters。Most of all i love how Sams emotions and actions change throughout the story， he starts off slightly unpre My Side Of The Mountain is a great book for people who love the outdoors and have always dreamed of living in the woods。 With great storytelling and wonderful visuals。I loved the evolution of Sam's skills and knowlage， the rought sketches in the book just add on to the fact that the book seems more like a journal then a novel。 With him describing how to do things and writing down encounters。Most of all i love how Sams emotions and actions change throughout the story， he starts off slightly unprepared and clumsy。 Then as the story goes on he gets more attuned to the forest， to the point to where he can hear the difference between the normal forest and when the fire warden is there。 He is completly content with his life by the third half of the book， and is fine with only the animals and his one human friend。 However by the end of the book， when reporter start trying to find him， he starts socializing with more and more people， wanting more socialization from almost a year alone。 Until the very end where his family goes up the mountian to live with him， mainly because they faced critisizim by letting their child live alone in the mountian。 。。。more
Susan
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I always thought I had read this as a child but either I didn't or I just don't remember。 Loved the description of life on the mountain。 I always thought I had read this as a child but either I didn't or I just don't remember。 Loved the description of life on the mountain。 。。。more
Mea Smith
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Enjoyable for the whole family！ A wonderful adventure！
Isaac
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"I like that it was about living in the woods。 I wouldn't want to live in the woods。 I would like to have a pet bird。。。a pigeon。 He had a falcon。 I like falcons and hawks。" --Isaac， age 5（This book was our family read aloud。 Isaac listened some but mostly ran around the living room and played with his sister。 😊） "I like that it was about living in the woods。 I wouldn't want to live in the woods。 I would like to have a pet bird。。。a pigeon。 He had a falcon。 I like falcons and hawks。" --Isaac， age 5（This book was our family read aloud。 Isaac listened some but mostly ran around the living room and played with his sister。 😊） 。。。more
Robyn
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This book was so refreshing。 It's simply written， yet rich with the beautiful themes of survivalism， love and respect for nature， friendship blossoming where you least expect it， and so many more。 I read it with my kids and we were delighted with every page。 This book was so refreshing。 It's simply written， yet rich with the beautiful themes of survivalism， love and respect for nature， friendship blossoming where you least expect it， and so many more。 I read it with my kids and we were delighted with every page。 。。。more
Jessie Kohl
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Well now I want to go camping。
Melynda
，
🎧 Hatchet or Spirit Bear is better。
unknown
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A return to the pastI read this book when I was in about fourth grade and I don't think a young boy could have been more enchanted by the thought of going off into the woods and doing what Sam did。 It somehow left an indelible mark on my mind and I've never forgotten it。 Tell him I was reminded of this book not too long ago and decided to reread it。 Yes it is written for the Young but I found that we all are young at heart if we admit it and it was time well spent revisiting this very good book。 A return to the pastI read this book when I was in about fourth grade and I don't think a young boy could have been more enchanted by the thought of going off into the woods and doing what Sam did。 It somehow left an indelible mark on my mind and I've never forgotten it。 Tell him I was reminded of this book not too long ago and decided to reread it。 Yes it is written for the Young but I found that we all are young at heart if we admit it and it was time well spent revisiting this very good book。 。。。more
Femke Rutgers
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Absolutely enjoyed this book。 The independence and adventure of a young boy living in the woods。
Michael Fitzgerald
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The ending brought this down from four stars to three。 The majority of the book was excellent， but now I'm worried about the sequels。 The ending brought this down from four stars to three。 The majority of the book was excellent， but now I'm worried about the sequels。 。。。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