My Side of the Mountain (Puffin Modern Classics)
A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • OVER 4 MILLION COPIES SOLD • The defining childhood classic about a boy finding his own way in the wilderness—a nostalgic book for readers young and old who have ever wanted to run away from home.
“Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest.”—The New York Times Book Review
“An extraordinary book… It will be read year after year.”—The Horn Book
Twelve-year-old Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in his family’s crowded New York City apartment. One day—armed with just a penknife, a ball of red cord, forty dollars, some flint and steel, and the clothes on his back—he decides to run away to his grandfather’s abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains, to live in the woods all by himself. There, Sam must rely on his own ingenuity and the resources of the great outdoors to survive, as he discovers a side of himself he never knew existed.
Teeming with hope, adventure, and a deep search for identity, My Side of the Mountain is a timeless classic for readers of all ages who have ever wondered what it would be like to live off the land.
American Library Association Notable Book • Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book • Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
“Should appeal to all rugged individualists who dream of escape to the forest.”—The New York Times Book Review
“An extraordinary book… It will be read year after year.”—The Horn Book
Twelve-year-old Sam Gribley is terribly unhappy living in his family’s crowded New York City apartment. One day—armed with just a penknife, a ball of red cord, forty dollars, some flint and steel, and the clothes on his back—he decides to run away to his grandfather’s abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains, to live in the woods all by himself. There, Sam must rely on his own ingenuity and the resources of the great outdoors to survive, as he discovers a side of himself he never knew existed.
Teeming with hope, adventure, and a deep search for identity, My Side of the Mountain is a timeless classic for readers of all ages who have ever wondered what it would be like to live off the land.
American Library Association Notable Book • Hans Christian Andersen Award Honor Book • Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
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Community Reviews
Sam runs away (kind of with permission) from home to live off the land on his grandfather’s old abandoned farm. He uses skills he learned from reading at the library to survive the harsh NY winters.
I read this book in elementary school and I loved it. I, too, wanted to run away and live in the woods. Some of the criticisms which have been brought against this book include the fact that the scenarios are highly unrealistic, it gives children false expectations for their own capabilities, and it deludes people into believing in the potential of nature which is rarely truly found. First things first: give children a little more credit. At least half of childhood is pretend -- you're playing. If this were National Geographic, we would be practicing the skills we will use as an adult -- independent reasoning, creativity, imagination, and cause-and-effect come to mind. Having said that, as a child, I understoof that Sam's adventure was unrealistic and highly improbably. However, I realized this was a work of fiction and took it as it was, not as fact or a book of suggestions, but as a story. I knew that I did not have the requisite survival skills, and, truth be told, I liked my home. That's what the annual summer family camping trips were for -- I'd pretend with my cousins that we were living alone in the wilderness. That was enough for me. Secondly, one of the main reasons I loved this book was because it helped give my mind a new venue of freedom: enjoyment in nature. It was cool that Sam had a special falcon friend in the book, but I knew wild animals are in fact wild and should be kept that way. Regardless, this book taught me something at a young age about appreciating solitude, natural beauty, and the power of the Earth. When I take a walk, sit under a tree, or play in a creek, I am awestruck by the sheer force of nature simply seething all around me. The transcendentalists were too advanced for me in 5th grade, but Jean Craighead George taught me on a fundamental level to appreciate my environment. I longed to be Sam, I did, but even if I didn't go out and live in the wilderness, there is a part of Sam within me still today.
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