My Side of the Mountain was written in 1959 by Jean Craighead George. It is a heartwarming story about a boy, Sam Gribley, who is fed up with city life and decides to run away to live in the Catskill Mountains with only forty dollars, a penknife, a ball of cord, and flint and steel. He must rely on his ingenuity and survival skills to make a life for himself in the forest, and he does so with the help of a few friends, both human and animal.
A classic coming of age story, My Side of the Mountain will entice many readers who have dreamed of sleeping under the stars, learning wilderness survival skills, or even just escaping the monotony of real life. It well received as a Newberry Honor Book, and ALA Notable Book, and a Hans Christian Anderson Award Honor Book.
This book is the first in a trilogy with the two other books being Frightful’s Mountain and The Far Side of the Mountain.