Customer Reviews

My Side Of The Mountain (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(323)
4 star:		(151)
3 star:		(45)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

OK, I'm 42, and here's my book report.

I read this book the first time back in about 1968. I can still remember dreaming about holing up in a tree house on a mountain somewhere while a great blizzard decends, the wind howling through the tree limbs. And surviving off the wilderness, trapping deer and fishing, hiding out from grownups. It was a tremendous adventure that has stayed with me through the years.

I recently bought this book for my 8-year old boy, but he's still pouring through the Harry Potter series (again), so I re-read it. It's still tremendous after all these years--the adventure every boy dreams of. It's a story of total independence and making it on your own, and the hero is as brave and resourcefull as I dreamed I would be if it were me on that mountain. The book is as entertaining today as it was back then. I know my boy will love it. It's magic without witchcraft.

I am 10 years old and have just read this book for my monthlybook report. I am a big fan of this book, My Side Of The Mountain. Theauthor of this book is Jean Craighead George. The main characters ofthe book are Sam Gribley, Frightful , and The Baron Weasel. Sam Gribley is a boy 15 years old who ran away from home to live on the Catskill Mountains. He ran away from home because there were11 poeple in his family, 4 brothers, 4 sisters and 2 adults plus Sam. Frightful is Sam's falcon, he took her from her nest when she was a baby and raised her. He also had a friend named The Baron Weasel who he caught in his trap.

My favorite chapter in the book is when Sam found Frightful a falcon so that he wouldn't get lonely. My second favorite chapter is When The City Comes To Me. And it is when his family comes to visit Sam. His Mom wants him to live in the barn until he is 16 but he doesn't want to.

The chapter that I liked the least was I Cooperate With The Ending. I found this chapter to be sad because I was really interested in the book and I didn't want it to end.

When my Aunt was in grade school she recommended this book to my Dad who was also in grade school. My Dad recommened this book to me and gave it to me for Christmas. When my brother is old enough I will recommended this book to him. The reason why I would recommended it to my brother or anyone is because it is a good book, full of adventure and excitement and I really enjoyed it. This book made me feel like I was in the story as one of the characters.

Dare I admit how many years ago I was but a girl, nose buried in this book? Decades, oh, decades ago. Yet even now it stands out as one of the beacon lights of my childhood, leading me to an adulthood that focuses around a love of wilderness.

When young Sam ran away from home (and this is something I routinely did as a girl, tying red bandana to a stick containing crackers, kitchen knife, and toothbrush, and rather long to do again, now as I spend too many of my days in an office) and headed into the Catskill Mountains, my heart went with him. No dream house could match the home he created inside the hollow of a big tree. No gourmet dinner could match the wilderness fare Sam put together, smacking his lips. No pet could match that fine falcon.

Jean Craighead George was then, and is now, at the top of the list of my favorite authors in children's and young adult literature. My own children are grown now, but as they grew, I read George's books to them, giving them not only a taste of fine writing, but also an education in science and wilderness survival, along with a healthy respect for environmental issues. George may write fiction, but her stories are all based on sound scientific data. How Sam survived on the mountain is based on good science. That he uses determination, intelligence, and discipline in living this way is good character. And that's something our kids don't see or read about nearly often enough today.

Highly recommended.

This book, My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George is a great book. The main character, Sam Gribley, runs away from his New York City apartment one day to seek a new and independent life. Sam chooses to live in the Catskill Mountain because his Grandfather once owned a farm there. While Sam is there, he meets many friends. Some of his new friends are people, and some are animals. Sam's best friend and helper is a falcon he calls Frightful. Sam also shows lots of courage and tolerance in this book. Sam was very courageous during the blizzard that hit the mountain. Sam shows tolerance because he eats things he's never eaten before such as rabbit, crayfish, and vension. This is a great book and anyone who likes adventure should read it.

This book is dedicated to many people -
to that gang of youngsters who
inhabited the trees and waters of the
Potomac River so many years ago, and
to the bit of Sam Gribley in the
children and adults around me now.

Young Sam Gribley is tired of living in a cramped apartment in New York City. He dreams of adventure and independence, a free life without urban noises. That how he comes up with a plan to run away. His father approves, thinking his boy will give up and return home the same day.

Sam hitchhikes his way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he finds a piece of land that used to be his great-grandfather farm; this land is still in the name of his family.

The boy sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions. He needs all his wits and knowledge of nature for survival. With a couple of failures along the way, he learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. But with the winter approaching, how will he manage to survive the severe cold and blizzards in the wilderness?


Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.

The book I read was My Side of the Mountain. Jean Craighead George is the author. My Side of the Mountain is about a teenager who is sick of living in the city. He lives in an apartment with his family in New York City but is unhappy there, so he runs away to the Catskill Mountains where his grandfather has some property. He tries to survive against the brutal winter and ice covered trees, hunters during the deer season, and tries not to be seen by hikers and campers. The setting in the book is in the 1960's or 70's and takes place in New York. The main character in the story is named Sam Gribley. Sam is adventurous and does not like to be kept inside. He can make tools out of stuff you can find in the woods. He is also very brave and courageous for going and staying in the woods alone.
This book is realistic fiction. The moral of the story is if you want something, do something about it. I highly recommend this book for others because it is great how the author explains everything. Sam makes different tools out of twigs and grass and the author explains every detail. The book is also very adventurous and exciting. If you want a book where you hate to stop reading, then this is a great book!

I will give you my opinion of this book: WONDERFUL. But we all have our own opinions, but no matter what you read in any of the reviews, including mine, that does not mean you would like it or not. No, you don't have to be a naturalist, book worm, or an adventure lover to like this book. This story is about a young teenage boy whose name is Sam Gribley. He lives in a large family in New York, and has the desire to run away in the woods. He wanted to do something different. This might be suprising, but his parents had agreed to this, although the Father thought he would be back soon. Then again, if Sam did succeed he would come and visit. Happily Sam arrives in the Catskills mountains, not knowing the unexpected suprises that was to come. Jean Craighead George, the author of this book had become a naturalist since she was very young, and had been through the same thing, which inspired her to write this. Being a wonderful writer and a natualist, this book is greatly detailed on survival, enviroment, food, , animals, and many other things that you would like to know about living in the wilderness. Sam befriends a College Professer, whom he calls Bando, and becomes great friends, also with some other residents of the town after he came. But the most important friend, I will say is Frightful. Who is Frightful you may ask? A Peregrine Falcon, which Sam climbed desperatly on a high ledge, and managed to get. Sam had many wild companians in the forest, but he also needed a provider. He trained Frightful to hunt for him, giving him extra time to finish many other tasks. Basiclly this book is about Sam, Frightful, and the Catskill mountains, trying to survive day by day, and succeeding. This is a absorbing book, and you would not want to put the book down the minute you read it. If you find this book dull in the first time you read it, I strongly recommend reading it slower, and in a later date. That should make easier to understand. This ends my review. Remember, this is a book all readers of any age might like. Not boyish, girlish, saddening, or too lively. It is one of those rare books, that atleast everyone will strike interest in.

Sam Gribley is just an average city kid who knows what he really wants, to live off the land. He is never taken seriously by anyone. When he tells everyone he running away they laugh. He gets to the Catskills and starts anew home. He makes plenty of new friends, including Frightful, his trained falcon.He learns to live off the land.When he is discovered several times he either befriends them or waits for them to leave. I'm sure you'll love this book while you also learn facinating facts. "My Side of the Mountain" is pure genius.

My Side of the Mountain is a wonderful five star book. I like it because it has amazing survival things that I wouldn't ever think of. This book is mostly enjoyed by people who like survival, or just seeing how they do it. This novel is also enjoyable by people who are interested in things that happen in the wild. This novel is about a boy named Matt who runs away from home to live in the mountains. He lives, but it is tough at the start. He makes a home from a tree and trains a falcon that can hunt for him, he also makes many friends. This book is by Jean Craighead George, and was made perfect for many people, it also has a lot to do with animals, so people who like animal books might like this too, it is a great survival book, and I recommend getting it now.

In Jean George's My Side of the Mountain series, she develops a character who works hard, has adventures, and is loving and caring. The books in the series are: My Side of the Mountain, On the Far Side of the Mountain, and Frightful's Mountain. The main character, Sam, is a young boy who ran away from his New Your city home to his great-grandfather's farm called the "Gribley's Farm." He lived off the land, and built himself a home, by burning out a hemlock tree. Nobody thought he could do it. These people were in for a surprise. As years go by Sam makes friends, while he works hard, and having adventures.
In the book, My Side of the Mountain, when Sam was at home in New York he went to school, and lived in a small house. He was tired of New York City life and so he decided to run away to his great-grandfather's abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains. On the way to the farm, he stopped to ask directions at a library. There he met Ms. Turner, the librarian. After a bit of searching she found a map. She gave him the map, wished him well, and he was on his way back to his adventure. When Sam arrived to the farm, he was hungry. After a while, he put himself to work on hollowing out a tree for a home. After building his home, he made household appliances such as a stove. One day, Sam met an old woman named Mrs. Strawberry who thought he lived in Delhi. They walked down the mountain until suddenly, Sam decided to go the library. There he read books on hawks and falcons. After he thought he had learned enough he left the library. On his way back up the mountain, he headed towards the cliffs. When he arrived there he saw a falcon's nest. He wanted a falcon so badly he started to climb up the cliff. When he came down his shoulder was hurt, and in his hands, he had a baby falcon, who he named Frightful. As he walked back to Gribley farm, he watched the little eyas, and fell in love. After many years of love and comfort, what happened?
In the second book of the series, On the Far Side of the Mountain, Sam now took care of his little sister Alice. His parents found him and decided to stay, but when they found the land was impossible to farm they were going to leave. The whole family was going to leave even Sam, but Sam had other ideas and so did his sister Alice. Therefore, his little sister Alice asked if she could stay with Sam and their parents thought about it and said yes. After a half a year Sam's bird, Frightful was "confiscated" by a conservation officer because it was an endangered species. After a great sadness, he decided to take a walk. When he came back, Alice was gone. Because he loved Alice so much, he followed her. On his adventure to find her, he discovered poachers had stolen Frightful from him. Did he ever find Frightful and did her ever catch up to Alice?
In the third book of the series, Frightful's Mountain, Frightful found a mate and had eyases in a nest on a bridge. After a while, construction workers started to repair the bridge. As their bulldozers raised a ruckus, Sam comforted Frightful. When conservation officers saw the problem, they tried to help. After their attempt failed, they tried to get the workers to stop. When the poachers saw the opportunity, they dressed up as Fish and Wildlife Officers. They told the workers they were there to save the eyases so the workers helped them. When the falcon "conservation officers" thought were all the eyases were down, they drove off. However, one of the eyases was still there, so Frightful stayed. When Sam saw this, he moved Frightful's eyas, and Frightful followed. When he found out poachers had taken two of the eyases he set out to find them. Did he ever find the eyases and did Frightful ever see them again?
I am sure you will like this unpredictable series. Jean George's ability to imagine makes the story intriguing. This makes for a great series.