My Side of the Mountain

Rating:
Summary: Classic Survival
Review: I can recall my fourth grade teacher reading this book to our class. We all loved it! I was especially drawn to the idea of a boy running away from home and the family that didn't understand to live in the mountains of upstate New York. He hollows out a large tree and makes a house out of it, with a deerskin for a door. Now, as an elementary education major, we read a lot of children's literature and do the same projects we would have our students do. I was just as excited to revisit this classic at 21 as I was at 11.

Sam Gribley moves out to the country to live off the land. He has ideals and is a true naturist. However, he cannot escape being noticed. He gets lonely and befriends badgers, raccoons and even a baby falcon that he trains to catch food for him. An occasional run-in with humans is inevitable though. There comes a point when Sam is unable to live alone anymore and begins to crave human attention once again.

This is a good book about survival in the woods, and the pressures that every young-adolescent will go through. The discussion starter questions are endless. The big drawback for me was the ending, which I will not reveal you to now. Still, it is worth reading even though you may be a let down in the last 2 pages.

Why 4 stars?: While I do feel it is a good book that deserves a place in every intermediate classroom library, there are a few drawbacks. The book is a little bit dated and the end is frustrating. However, it is entertaining and appeals to the sense of adventure and mischief that is found in all of us.

Rating:
Summary: Can you survive in the wilderness for a whole year?
Review: My Side of the Mountain by Jean George follows the story of young Sam. Sam, an unhappy pre-teen is tired of his busy city life. He has no privacy and can't seem to get away from the yelling and crying of his brothers and sisters! Later he tells his family he is going to run away to their grandfather's old piece of land in the forest. There he learns survival techniques and how to cope with the strange seasons. Sam also meets people and animals that seem like family. The winter will be coming soon! Will Sam be ready or will he freeze in the snow?
The pros of this story are that you could picture every word and you could understand it, too! It had amazing characters and an interesting plot. The cons of this story are that at some parts it can get slow and boring. The ending also could have been changed so when you finished the book you wouldn't be so discouraged. Overall this book was fantastic!

Rating:
Summary: Not in a million years! Far-fetched, wishful nonsense!
Review: Running away from home and living in the wilderness may be the dream for millions of teenage boys, but the reality of 'pulling it off' couldn't possibly be as easy as the author of this book makes it appear.

Everything Sam wants to accomplish in his tree home away from civilization, he does. He may fail once or twice, but then it all works out: He successfully hunts for food, creates flavorful recipes for grand suppers (which he shows off to visitors), sews his own winter clothes from deer hides and rabbit furs...it's all very, very simple! GET REAL! From the incredible anti-authoritarian parents, who let Sam go on his quest in the first place, to the rediculous 'dragged in by the hair' ending, this book was a disappointment. I'm a 4th grade school teacher, and this book was not on any of my students' favorites list!

My only reason for giving 2 points rather than only 1 to this Newbery Award Winner (? )is the fact that this novel does give lots of useful instruction on 'how to' cook, keep water from seeping through home-made vessels, and to entertain oneself when there is no company around.**

Rating:
Summary: Mountain Madness
Review: Sam runs away from home to the Catskill Mountains, because he isn't happy with his eight brothers and sisters. He is too crowded. He burns out a tree to live in. He sees all the animals of the forest storing up food for the winter. He thinks he doesn't have enough food to feed himself through the winter. Sam trains a duck hawk to catch food for him. Her name is Frightful. Sam meets an English teacher. He heard sirens before he met him, so he thought he was a bandit. He called him Bando. Bando brings Sam newspaper clippings. They are all about a wild boy living in the mountains surviving off of nuts, berries, and deer meat. Bando wants to make a guest house by burning out another tree, because he is always there visiting Sam and sleeping in his bed. Sam doesn't like this idea but can't say no to his best friend. Will Sam make a home that he is content with? Sam hears all these noises in the woods. The sound of snapping branches gets closer and closer. He thinks someone is coming to take him home. I recommend this book to all people who like nature and adventures, because it takes place in the mountains.

Rating:
Summary: Why I Enjoyed "The Other Side of the Mountain" by Matt Lima
Review: The book "My Side of the Mountain" was a lot of fun to read. This book was full of adventures and thrills. I would definately recommend this book to kids of my age group. I am twelve years old and I think other twelve year olds would relate to this book well. They would relate to this book because the boy in this book is 12 and 13 years old and what he does would be possible for other boys to do. This book is about a boy in a large family who ran away because his house is too crowded and no one believed that he would run away. Because his father doubted that he would run away for more than one day, he decided to run away. The characters name is Sam Gribley. He is from New York and ran away to the Catskill Mountains. He is away from home for about 9 months. While he was out there he met some people and went to different places on the way. I like how he was very independent and built a house in a tree. Sam is very talented because he was able to capture and train a falcon, catch his own food, make his own dishes and silverware and start fires. Some of the people he met in the mountain sound like people you would meet today. There was a character named Gambo who was a teacher, but who Sam thought was a theif. There was also a character named Matt, he was a boy who worked for the New York Gazette, and he was in the mountain looking for the "wild boy". The reason he was looking for Sam was because Sam had become famous and known as the "wild boy", because he was living in the mountain and no one knew who he was. One day he heard a voice calling his name and he knew at once that it was his father. He ran down the mountain to greet him, and his father said that he was famous in New York. His dad stayed with him for a couple of nights and shared with him what he had done. The ending was unexpected and you should read this book to find out!

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This book was an awesome book! I have read many of the books written by Jean Craighead George, and I would have to say that this one is right up there with the Julie trilogy. the story focuses on a young boy, Sam, whotries to run away to his family's farm in the catskills to test himself and live off the land. Using just his skills he aquired from reading in libraries in New York, he conqueres the wilderness and survives throguh the winter. Companions he meets alongf the way are frightful, a peregrine falcon that he raises and grows to love, Bando, a man he mistakes for a convict when he finds him at his camp site, and many more people and animals he befriends. This magnificient tale of survival, friendship, and self discovery, will remain forever etched in the minds of its readers. Im sure you will keep flipping those pages, and continue to read it over and over, long after the pages are wrinkled and the cover is faded.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've Read This Year
Review: 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.