My Side of the Mountain Trilogy by Jean Craighead George

My Side of the Mountain By Jean Craighead George

If you ever truly wondered if books are living changing, I give you this forward by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from Frightful’s Mountain:

“…I thought the Craighead’s might be the only family in America that was having more fun than the Kennedys. Obsessed with falcons as I was from birth, I read My Side of the Mountain in 1964. … I entered Millbrook upstate New York drawn by its informal falconry program…My experience as a young falconer accounts in large part for my lifelong devotion to raptors and my continued interest in natural history…My years as a falconer helped drive my own career choice as an environmental lawyer and advocate. The knowledge and experience I acquired from falconers have marked my life and made me a far more effective advocate on nature’s behalf.”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

July 1999

This is one of my favorite books as a child and I discovered On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful’s Mountain only recently browsing through one of my favorite bookstores. But by putting together this blog, I JUST discovered three more books including the Field Guide.

This series is about Sam Gribley living unhappily in New York City who runs away to some forgotten family land in the Catskill Mountains. He learns to live off the land with the help of a kindly librarian, a falcon baby, a flint and steele, a penknife, and a ball of cord. He is joined by his sister in book two, and book three chronicles Frightful’s migration journal south.

Jean Craighead George allows you to commune with nature to a time when life is simpler and good. Read these with your child and be inspired to take a camping trip!