MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN - Jean Craighead George

 MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

My Side of The Mountain - Jean Craighead George

- Jean Craighead George - 

What a great book. Just the kind of thing I use to love. I went through this phase when I was about twelve or thirteen when I read every book I could find on surviving in the woods, surviving a desert island, that kind of story. Books like Lost In The Barrens, Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, The Cay, Island of the Blue Dolphins. I wonder how I missed My Side Of The Mountain?

I think it may have been a case of judging a book by it's cover. I mean this cover looks kind of dorky...

My Side Of The Mountain - book cover not my style

The mullet haired kid and the indistinct hawk. Not something that would have appealed to me. I only found it now b/c I'm going through thrift store books looking for something age appropriate for my kids...and I've kind of learned to not judge a book by it's cover. Now people, that's a whole other story...

Not sure why I wouldn't have picked up this book when I was in my stranded-on-a-deserted-island phase b/c if you look at my copy of Lost In The Barrens it's almost as cheesy. Lost in the Barrens is my favourite book in this genre, my high bar standard book, if you may.

Lost In The Barrens - my fav book

Cover aside, this book was just like Lost In The Barrens, Robinson Crusoe, etc. A young boy runs away to the forest and attempts to survive. He has many trials and tribulations, many errors, and many successes. You learn a lot about what you can eat, where you can build a shelter, how to dry food. The thing about this book that I really enjoyed was the relationship the boy develops with the local wildlife. He trains a falcon, befriends a racoon, and has a love/hate thing going on with a local weasel. He ends up surviving, or should I say thriving, after a year and then the books ends with a wild turn...which I didn't really like, but I could see it making way for an easy second novel. His large family finds him and decides to live with him. Bad ending, bad, bad, ending. But, I kind of want to see what happens in the next book. What he can teach his city slicker sisters and brothers?

Anyway, add this book to your collection of young boys living in the wilderness collection.

SLAPSHOTS - THE STARS FROM MARS

 THE STARS FROM MARS - GORDON CORMAN

Gordan Korman - SLAPSHOTS 1 The Stars From Mars

A classic Cinderella sports story. These never get old. 

This book reminds me of the Mighty Ducks movie. A ragtag team of hockey players that inherit a strange coach and a star player who used to play the rival team.

They start out rough, but with some help and determination they get better. Of course it all comes down to the final game against the best team in the league. Will they work out all their problems and win?

This is by far the best hockey book I've read for kids. There are all kinds of players, so easy to relate to at least someone even if you are not a hockey player. There is a lot of actual hockey action, which seems to be missing from other 'hockey' books. And, the story moves along at a good pace to keep you reading...it might be predictable, but there are some twists along the way.

If you want a copy, or you want the entire series you can get it on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2GwB1DM

REDWALL

REDWALL

- Brian Jacques -

Redwall is a classic story of good vs evil. In this case the fight is between a collection of woodland creatures - mice, rats, snakes, badgers, ferrets, sparrows, and even moles.

On the 'good' side we have a monastery full of mice in monk wear who are dedicated to helping and healing.

On the 'evil' side we have the nastiest rat ever (one eyed, pegged leg, scar covered, temperamental..."loony" as Jacques implies) and his gang of rats.
It was the 'bad guys' who really made the book for me. First, I was fascinated by this evil rat leader - Cluny the Scourge - and how terrible he was. Just the most repulsive, mean, nastiest character ever imagined. We was constantly swatting, bad mouthing, and threatening his followers. He must have killed half a dozen members of his horde (all ranks, no discrimination there) without a second though. He was obsessed with remaining in power and using his power to take over the world. I bet he was fun character to write.

I also got a bit of a chuckle from the names of some of the evil rats - Cheesethief, Scumnose, Wormtail, Ragear.

The actual plot was pretty simple - Cluny and his gang, who have been laying waste to most of the world, show up at the walls of Redwall Abbey. Surprisingly, they are repulsed when they try to attack the Abbey. They lay siege to Redwall, making additional and more creative attempts at getting inside.
During this time the occupants of the Abbey realize their full potential and in some cases their destiny - like say, being a world class warrior.
What make the book a page turner is the pace and the characters. There are very few slow moments with lots of battles, adventures through the woods, and a mystery made of riddles to solve. It keeps your attention. Also, you really have no idea what is going to happen. The action goes from very tame to pretty gruesome and violent. Will the next battle be waged with rotten radishes or will an oversized arrow go straight through a row of ferrets? You have to read to find out.

On that note, I think there might have been a mistake - a mistake labelling this book. Everywhere I look it is filed as a 'kids' book. But, to me, it should be shelved in the 'must read by everyone before they die' category. It reminded me of Harry Potter, which is also a 'kids' book that appeals to every age. Don't let the animal characters discourage you, it is a great read.

The Enchanted Wood

THE ENCHANTED WOOD

- Enid Blyton -

This book was a hit in our house! The five year old love it, and the thirty plus old couldn't put it down. The begs for 'just one more chapter' were frequently given into and reading would go late into the night...sometimes past 8pm! As I've eluded to, this book is so well written it appeals to everyone. Although aimed at kids the imaginative world that Blyton creates is just so interesting and magical that I found I was just excited for bedtime story time as my daughter.

The general story is about three children who find a gigantic magical tree in a small forest behind their house. At the top of the tree is a ladder that leads into the clouds and other lands. The lands change daily and you never know what will be up there. Being a children's book makes anything possible - there is no adult pretense that confines the imagination. The children find lands like 'take-what-you-want', 'birthday land', 'the land of topsy-turvy', and many more. Each one is extreme in some aspect which in most cases turns into a problem - an adventure as they refer to it in the book. Many times the children find themselves on the verge of being stuck in whatever strange land they are in forever, either by not following the obsure rules and laws they were ignorant of or just bad luck falling into the grasp of an evil wizard (or similar magical being). But, luckily they always seem to escape just in the knick of time.

The cast of characters is also unforgettable. You have Moon-face, a small man with a big head which looks like the moon. Silky, a soft spoken fairy with golden hair. Saucepan man, a ragtag fellow who wears pots and pans instead of clothing. Mr. Whatz-his-name, a strange guy who sleeps all the time and has no idea what his name is. Dame washalot, the local launderer who is constantly pouring her water down the tree and soaking unsuspecting climbers. And, a gaggle of other fairies, snowmen, wizards, goblins, animals...the list goes on.

Enid is able to create an almost believeable world by getting into the nitty-gritty details. She invents strange foods - pop-cakes & toffee shocks (both of which blow up in your mouth). She describes the tree in great detail it's texture and colour...it's almost like you are there. There is a lot of though put into describing the daily lives of the children and the strange fairy folk, which could sound boring and mundane, but Blyton makes it extremely interesting.

This book is the perfect blend of action/adventure and the building of a new imaginary world. The story is a constant up and down, which keeps things interesting, and makes for perfect places to stop reading - at least for the night. There is just so much packed into this book that a reread is just as enjoyable as the first time around.

RATING: READ