My Side of the Mountain - by Jean Craighead George

About the Book

Runaway Sam Gribley is surviving in the Catskill Mountains with only a penknife, a ball of cord, $40, and some flint and steel. Along the way, he learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that will change his life forever. Illustrations.

Book Synopsis

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

About the Author

"I write for children. Children are still in love with the wonders of nature, and I am too. So I tell them stories about a boy and a falcon, a girl and an elegant wolf pack, about owls, weasels, foxes, prairie dogs, the alpine tundra, the tropical rain forest. And when the telling is done, I hope they will want to protect all the beautiful creatures and places."

Jean Craighead George (1919-2012) was the author of more than 100 beloved books for young people, including the Newbery Award-winning Julie of the Wolves, the Newbery Honor-winning My Side of the Mountain, On the Far Side of the Mountain, and Frightful's Mountain. She was a lifetime naturalist and a household name.

To learn more about Jean Craighead George's life and writing, you might enjoy visiting her website and the website of her childhood home, The Craighead House, now a nature center in Carlisle, PA.

JeanCraigheadGeorge.com

CraigheadHouse.org