My Side of the Mountain

Running away to live for a year alone in the woods–as a kid, I couldn’t have dreamed up a better fantasy.

Twelve-year-old protagonist Sam Gribley makes the dream feel realistic. Carving your own home in a huge hollow tree? Check. Learning how to set traps for fish and game? Check. Stitching your own clothes out of a deer hide “borrowed” from a reckless hunter who couldn’t find the carcass? Check. Learning the daily rhythms of wildlife, from chickadees to raccoons to stoats? Oh yes. I could have lived in Sam’s world forever.

Plus, the author’s line illustrations perfectly evoke an… show more.

This story of a 12-year-old boy who runs away from his New York City home to live alone in the Catskills is a comfort read in my house.

The detailed description of how Sam survives—foraging, building traps, hollowing out a tree—and the theme of independence are catnip to the introverts in my family. The book is read on repeat with my boys.

This classic story of a boy running away to the Catskill Mountains and surviving on his own in the wilderness has stayed in my mind for years. Camping in the mountains of California with my comfortable sleeping bag and tent is so much different than reading about Sam Gribley, who brings only his knife, flint, and steel to light fires, some rope, and his ingenuity. Sam bonds with a falcon who helps him survive the harsh winter, which he spends living in a hollowed out log. 

This book was one of my childhood favourites. It spoke to the part of me who used to routinely “run away”, mostly for the implied sense of adventure and also because I was entranced with the idea of living in a cubby I’d built myself. One of my most spectacular cubbies was built at the foot of an enormous pine tree, around whose drooping branch I fashioned an igloo-like stick structure which I stuffed with pine needles. Inside I made beds of pine needles which I even slept in, despite it being a good half hour from our home. My… show more.

This book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in adventure and survival. The best part about this book is that there are very few adults! Our young hero runs away to live on his own. He encounters many dangers and difficulties but manages to learn from them all. He makes mistakes and he carries on. This story will fuel your inner adventurer to try new things. This book is not for the faint of heart. Readers will connect with the hero and worry for his safety as well as his determination not to quit.

My Side of the Mountain changed my childhood and my life. I was born in the vibrant city of Biloxi, Mississippi and moved to a timber farm in an overgrown ghost town in rural Mississippi when I was eleven. At first, I hated it. I missed my city life and felt lonely living on a gravel road, four miles away from my nearest friends. Then I read My Side of the Mountain. The book takes readers on a journey with Sam Gribley, who runs away to live off the land in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Sam’s story awakened in me… show more.

This adventure book was my absolute favorite growing up and has never lost its appeal. As a kid, I yearned to be like Sam Gribley, bravely living off the land in the embrace of wilderness. This moving story affirms the importance of wild places and demonstrates how creative self-reliance offers empowerment at any age. It has become a classic for the past three generations of my family.