George Craighead Jean. My Side of the Mountain. NY: Penguin Books, USA Inc, 1959. 177 pages. (Survival Series)
In this story Sam Gribley, a young 13 year old boy runs away from his crowded New York City apartment to live in the wilderness at his grandfather’s farm. In the forest, Sam makes a home out of a hemlock tree, tames and lives with a falcon (Frightful), and learns to live in the wilderness, with a little help from a library in Delhi. But through all this, Sam has to survive winter, escape being seen by adults, and try to live with a pesky weasel. But even that can’t stop Sam from living a good life in the wilderness as he uses knowledge of plants and herbs for food, trap and catch animals, and meet and see friends like Bando and even his own father.
I would most definitely read another book from this author because she is very good at describing the situation her characters are in or even the food they are eating. She is also very good at spreading the drama that is happening in the story, like the steps that Sam had to take to make his hard, but tasty acorn pancakes. Jean is very good at adding new characters with very good suspense. She is also very good at keeping your attention by either adding a new threat to the character or setting a new goal for the main character to accomplish.
Reviewed by: FlyingPurplePeopleEater
