Book Review: My Side of the Mountain

This book is about a boy named Sam Gribley that runs away from home into the mountains. One day he had told his father he would go to the Gribley’s land far away in the mountains and that’s what he did. After running away Sam came across a library. He found a book with maps of the Gribley’s land and copied its maps onto a piece of paper. When he reached the place, it was in wrecks.  

Sam followed his path back to the mountains. After a little while he built a hook to catch trout in the water, lit a fire, then cooked the fish he caught, and finally found a place to sleep in between boulders. The next morning as he was climbing the mountain, he found a pet falcon whom he named Frightful.

At the top of the mountain, as Frightful and Sam were roaming, they found a home in a tree. Together, they hunted fish, crabs, clams, mussels, rabbits, and birds. Not long after, Sam killed a deer and used its hide to make a suit. In his home town, Sam was known as the wild boy!

Can Sam survive in the mountains? Will he ever come home? Will home come to him? Will people find out where he lives? Make your predictions; read the book and enjoy Sam’s experience in the mountains.

Writing Girl (WG)

My Side of the Mountain

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Book Review: The Trumpet of the Swan

One splendid morning, a Trumpeter Swan’s eggs hatched. Like most fathers, the father swan (a cob) wanted to show off his babies. He spotted a boy (Sam Beaver), whom he had met one year ago. As the father introduced the baby trumpeter swans to Sam, each one said hello, except Louis; he tugged onto Sam’s shoe laces instead. At that moment, the cob realized that Louis could not speak.

Not long after, Louis fell in love. However, he could not speak, and his mate Serena kept swimming away from him. Louis’s father spotted that since Louis could not speak he would have trouble finding a wife. The cob stared sadly at the ground, wondering what he could do to help Louis. After a lot of thinking, he knew what to do.

Later that day, the cob went to a music store and stole a trumpet for Louis to use as a communication tool. Meanwhile, Louis was drawing an image of school in the ground as a way to ask Sam if his teacher could teach him to read and write. Understanding what Louis meant, Sam convinced a fourth grade teacher to accept Louis as a student. When Louis came back to Sam, he knew how to read and write.

Sam gifted him a dry erase board and marker to communicate with humans. Back home the cob gave Louis the trumpet. After a while Louis learnt to play. When his dad told him that he had stolen the trumpet, Louis felt bad and wanted to pay back the money for it.

Louis went looking for jobs far and wide. Can Louis earn enough money to pay for the trumpet? What kind of challenges will he face? How will he feel? What will he learn about the real world during his unique journey? 

The author E.B. White touches up on these very sensitive and real moments all throughout the book. I hope you will read this book and enjoy the time Louis spends finding jobs and having adventures.

Writing Girl (WG)

The Trumpet of the Swan