My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain is a 1959 adventure novel by Jean Craighead George. It is the first in a five-book series, though George’s sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain, was not published until 1990. As discussed in the Author’s Preface, My Side of the Mountain is inspired largely by George’s own experiences as a child. Growing up, George loved nature and attempted to run away from home to live in the outdoors. George’s parents encouraged her pursuit of independence and freedom, but like many kids George was back home in 40 minutes. The fulfillment of George’s adventure as a child manifests itself in the story of Sam Gribley, a young boy who succeeds in his determined search for independence and self-sufficiency.

Plot Summary

My Side of the Mountain is a fictional story of Sam Gribley’s survivalist adventure into the Catskill Mountains. It is narrated from Sam’s first-person point of view and relies on journal entries, notes, and drawings that Sam makes throughout his adventure. The story begins in the middle, with Sam trying to survive his first winter snowstorm. Forced to stay inside his tree house home during the storm, Sam tells the reader about the events and circumstances that led him to this moment.

Seven months prior, Sam leaves his crowded New York apartment and 11-person family in pursuit of a quieter life. Sam’s parents allow him to venture off into the mountains, expecting Sam to come back the next day. However, Sam’s determination pushes him not to go back. Sam hops on a train with nothing more than a penknife, a ball of cord, an ax, flint and steel, $40, and the clothes on his back. He then hitches rides with truckers into the mountains in search of his great-grandfather’s old rundown farm.

Sam is an intelligent boy who has read a lot about nature and how to survive in the wild, but early on he struggles to catch food and make a fire. Sam relies on the help of an old man to teach him how to properly build a fire. He also seeks the assistance of a librarian to help him find the old Gribley farm. Sam soon becomes adept at catching fish and gathering fruits, nuts, and vegetables to eat.

One day while helping an old lady pick strawberries, Sam notices a peregrine falcon flying overhead. Sam decides to capture one and train it to become a hunting falcon. In a harrowing scene, Sam successfully steals a nestling from a mother falcon’s nest, and because of how scary the process of capturing it was, he decides to name her Frightful. Over time Frightful becomes a skilled huntress as well as a loyal companion to Sam. Sam befriends a number of other animals along the way, including a weasel he names The Baron and a raccoon he calls Jessie Coon James.

After hiding out and spending months alone with these animals, one day Sam develops a friendship with a man napping near his camp. Initially Sam believes the man could be a bandit, but he comes to find out that he is actually a college English professor who got lost in the woods. Sam starts calling the man Bando, and the two engage in a number of wilderness survival activities together. Bando visits Sam again during Christmas and then makes regular visits to the Gribley farm the following spring.

Sam spends a great deal of time in autumn preparing for the daunting winter months ahead. He catches several deer by stealing them from hunters. Sam is extremely resourceful with these deer, using them to make warmer clothing and blankets, preserving the venison meat to eat, and even making the bones into utensils.

Sam ultimately survives a winter season filled with snow and ice storms. He remains well fed, warm, and comforted by having Frightful around. However, spring offers new complications for Sam. News articles and rumors about a wild boy living in the Catskills spread in town, causing a young boy named Matt Spell to venture near Sam’s camp to capture the story. Although Sam tries to throw Matt off the scent, Matt figures out that Sam is indeed the wild boy from the news stories. Sam agrees to help Matt and allow him to return later on. Once Matt leaves, Sam beings wondering if he desires human contact again.

Matt, Bando, and other friends begin making regular visits to Sam’s camp, and Sam realizes that city life is flooding into the mountains. At the very end of the story, Mr. Gribley, Sam's father, brings Sam’s entire family up into the Catskills to live permanently with Sam at the Gribley farm. Although Sam’s parents see how well Sam can survive on his own—and are proud of him for it—they explain that society’s laws still require them to watch over Sam until he’s 18 years old. Sam is disappointed by this news but seems to understand and accept his parents’ wishes.