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Description edit see section history

Terribly unhappy in his family’s crowded New York City apartment, Sam Gribley runs away to the solitude, and danger of the mountains, where he finds a side of himself he never knew.

Summary edit see section history

Sam Gribley was an average boy in New York City until he decided to run away. He ran off to his great grandfathers property in the Catskill mountains. He only left with a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel. On the mountains,he makes a house out of a tree and... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Sam Gribley was an average boy in New York City until he decided to run away. He ran off to his great grandfathers property in the Catskill mountains. He only left with a penknife, a ball of cord, forty dollars, and some flint and steel. On the mountains,he makes a house out of a tree and hunts for food. His best friend is a peregrine falcon that he caught when she was a baby. Her name is Frightful. Sam is living a good life until all these random people are coming and taking pictures and writing stories about him. Will he be able to live out in the wilderness, or will the police send him home?

People edit see section history

  • Sam Gribley: The main character, who is very smart, that learns to live in the wild; he develops great survival skills.
  • Frightful: Sam's peregrine falcon. He steals her from her nest, raises her from a chick and befriends her. She's trained as his hunter.
  • Bando: An English teacher who gets lost in the woods and falls asleep by Sam's fire. He is a great musician.
  • Matt: A journalist who is always trying to expose Sam to the world.
  • Thoreau: Bando's nickname for Sam.
  • Jessie C. James: A raccoon in the forest near Sam's tree.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Then I shouted, "I did it!"”
    Sam

Organizations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

I am on my mountain in a tree home that people have passed without ever knowing that I am here.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Author's Preface
I Hole Up in a Snowstorm
I Get Started on This Venture
I Find Gribley's Farm
I Find Many Useful Plants
The Old, Old Tree
I Meet One of My Own Kind and Have a Terrible Time Getting Away
The King's Provider
What I Did About the First Man Who Was After Me
I Learn to Season My Food
How a Door Came to Me
Frightful Learns Her ABC's
I Find a Real Live Man
The Autumn Provides Food and Loneliness
We All Learn About Halloween
I Find Out What to Do with Hunters
Trouble Begins
I Pile Up Wood and Go On with Winter
I Learn About Birds and People
I Have a Good Look at Winter and Find Spring in the Snow
The Spring in the Winter and the Beginning of My Story's End
I Cooperate with the Ending
The City Comes To Me

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 5 in My Side of the Mountain. (standard series)

Followed by On the Far Side of the Mountain.

This is book 817 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
This book is in Newbery Honor Roll. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Jean Craighead George (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Michael Garland (Cover Artist) - 1988 Paper back Cover art

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Dutton
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1959
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 178

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.G2933
  • Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Exciting to read, great boy books.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Julie of the Wolves
  • On the Far Side of the Mountain
  • Frightful's Mountain
  • Julie
  • The Tarantula in My Purse: and 172 Other Wild Pets
  • One Day in the Woods
  • Everglades
  • The Talking Earth

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