Customer Reviews

Farthest-Away Mountain

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I picked this book up at our elementary school book fair, at random ... I'm so glad I did! I had to write this review because of the Horn Book review, which is right up at the top of the page, and so out of touch with what works for kids. "Slight?" The illustrations "contrived?" Couldn't be more wrong. I was in the fourth or fifth grade, maybe, when I read this book, and I'm twenty now, and looking back, this book just utterly captured me. Completely consumed me, in that amazing way that books can when you're that age. I was in the story, and magic was real, and I hurt for the gargoyles, and I cheered for Dakin ... I don't know, I think you have to be a childhood book-devourer to understand what that perfect book can be to a kid. Books like that are why I want to be a writer, so that people can get lost in my worlds like I got lost in that one. And the illustrations were part of the magic. In this case, "melodramatic" worked. Kids (well, kids like me, at least) like fantasy. Honestly, I suppose if I'd read this book for the first time as a twenty year old, I might have been passive about it ... but I remember what it was to be a kid, and so open to magic and wonder and so able to lose myself in other worlds and other circumstances. I'm so glad to have picked it up and experienced it ... give yourself the opportunity, whether you're a kid or an adult (in which case, maybe you'll get to feel like a kid for a little while).

I discovered this book when I was in the Fourth grade and have read it about 5-6 times a year since then! Now that I am in my early 20's Dakin and her hopeful attitude and her high spirits always bring me comfort and courage through tough times in my life. I have shared this book with children I have met and every one of them discovered the same magic and mystery I did when I was a little girl! Lynne Reid Banks is an amazing author who puts all the hopes and fears any 15 year old girl experiences into the heart and mind of Dakin, a heroine we all truly fall in love with! This is my favorite book of all time and I will cherish it always!

I remember my mother reading this book to my twin sister and me. It was a hard back copy that she had gotten from the Library. My sister and I would come down out of our bunk beds and sit on the floor with my mother as we were enthralled to listen to her read this story. I loved the colored snow and the gargoyals. When I was married and had my first child I desired to read this book to my son and I did but it was mostly for me since he was only a few months old at the time. I will read it to him again. But I love this book. This story is a great treasure to me that I will always remember.

This is a classic fairy tale about an adventuresome little girl who is drawn to a mountain that is considered evil by the people of her village. During her journey she encounters an ogre, gargoyles, a magic pool, a frog, an evil witch, and more! The suspenseful tale captures the imagination and leaves children on the edge of their seat.

I read it every year to my second grade class. The kids LOVE this book and have (through various years) been motivated to act the story out, write their own fairy tales, discuss the elements of fairy tales, and more!

This book is not widely known. Maybe that is a good thing because then someone would want to make it into a movie, thus diminishing the use of imagination and sense of enjoyment that kids gain from hearing this story. BUT, I believe every child would benefit from hearing such a fantastic tale, and for that I am sad it is not better known and more highly regarded.

This book taught me to go for what you want in life. It teaches that no matter how impossible it may seem, it can be done. I read this as a child, now I am 29 and I still think of it. I still like to sit down with a chunk of cheese and a loaf of bread as a snack, just like Dakin took with her on her journey. When it snows in the winter I think of the colored snow on the mountain that Dakin was determined to investigate. I have even tried to make colored snow myself. Gargoyles have a whole different charm to them once you know this story. Just from writing this I am excited to read the book all over again.

I read this story to my daughter for the first time when she was 4 and she loved it. A year later she wanted me to get it out of the library again. Recently, she insisted that we buy it. We read it through twice and now, since she is an excellent independent reader at 6, she is reading it again for atleast an hour at night to herself. Her favorite part is when the gargoyles say that they can "still feel". She has made her own stuffed gargoyles out of paper and pretends to be Dakin talking to them. This story is pure magic. It combines all of the elements of a questing story, but the fact that it is about a brave girl who knows her own mind, makes it special. There aren't many stories written for young girls like this and that makes it even more unique. I highly recommend it to anyone with a child who has a thirst for adventure and an interest in all things magical.

This adventurous, amazing, edge of your seat tale is my all-time favorite book! I've read it about three times and I've never gotten tired of it. When ever I see it in a library, I jump up and down and tell everybody "that's my favorite book!" I suggest anybody I see and all of my friends to read it. It is extremely entertaining.

This is one of my top fantasy stories. I read this amazing book when I was in junior high and could not put it down once I began. From the moment I began it until the unfortunate moment that it ended, I was completely engrossed in it. It was like watching a favorite movie, each step your character makes is a step that you take, and each moment of joy or sadness is a moment that squeezes your heart. This is a story about a girl who wakes up each morning and finds that something is missing in her life, and when the chance for adventure arrives she steps out into the world to fullfill her dreams.
Read this book! Have your child read it! You will not be disappointed!

Oh my gosh, how I loved this book. In third grade, I read it until the cover fell off! This unconventional fairy tale far surpassed other romantic tales in my mind. Banks shows images that are beautiful and incredibly imaginative. I would guide a girl aged around 8 to 14 to this book, depending on her reading ability, though the book is not terribly difficult. I consider this a classic and a must read for young girls. It's one of the first fairy tales where the heroine doesn't need (or particularly like) a prince coming to her rescue.

Hey, my name is Amy and I'd just like to say that this book is really tight. I am 14 and I was really bored one day waiting for an ortho appointment and they had this book out with the magazines. I got through the first chapter, but then I was called. Just the 1st chapter was enough to fascinate me. Afterwards, my mom needed to pick up something from the mall so I found a bookstore and bought it. READ THIS BOOK IT WILL NOT BORE YOU!