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.

Wilderness Survival

WILDERNESS SURVIVAL

- Mark Elbroch -

I took this book out of the library thinking it was going to be a bland 'how to' book on basic survival skills. To my surprise, and delight, it was much more. It is part journal and part 'how to' blended together to put the skills into context. This made for an enjoyable read with all of the practical knowledge to boot. But wait, there was more. The personal accounts of Mark brought in a spiritual philosophical dimension on how natural living effects the soul, the idea that nature is not an adversary, even the concept of time. Reading this book not only filled my soul with more respect and appreciation for the natural world but a desire to reevaluate my own thoughts and slow down life a bit...and of course, try out some cool survival skills!
Most of the book is structured as a journal (ie Day 1). Mark keeps us updated on what skills he used, what they made, or maybe what they caught for dinner. I'm happy to report that there are not many repetitive or mundane journal entries. Each day seems to bring on new challenges or observations of nature. There were a few too many pages on mice tracking or vole sightings for my liking, but that's just me. The journal did progress from a practical account of day to day 'chores' to a much great much broader view of the natural world and humans place in it. By the end of the adventure/experiment the entries had turned into full out rants, blasting society's evils and praising the unforgiving world of nature. I got the impression Mark was not going to be headed home, but instead staying in his leaf/stick debris hut and coming that 'hermit' of the woods that we've all heard about in urban myths.
The prologue and epilogue pull everything together. They are must reads in this book. Mark admits that he has changed a lot since he went on this survival quest. He alluded to a feeling that he was slightly ashamed or embarrassed about some of his rantings. I do commend his apology for breaking a few laws (trespassing, poaching, etc) and agree that to survive he had to do a few illegal things.
Overall, I thought this was a superb blending of 'how to' with an in-context story making for a wonderful read.

RATING - READ