My Side of the Mountain

I like to have a book my 11-year-old son and I can share during drives. We listen to many classics on road trips or even just commutes to school and work.
I remember reading My Side of the Mountain as a boy and when I came across it in Audible, I knew it would be perfect for our drive time.
And it was, he seemed to truly enjoy it and I was taken back to my childhood as well. Is this great literature? hardly.. is it always accurate? no.. but it is still a good children's book and not so bad for an adult either.

I first checked this book out of my school library in 1961. I was a 10 year old book worm from a dysfunctional alcoholic family who wanted to run away from them all and have total control of my life. I knew I couldn't do so, but did I ever enjoy reading about how Sam did it - and how, in the end, he realized he needed people in his life, too.

The novel was excellent; however, the reader was not very good. The story has a first person narration. The central character is an adolescent boy. However, the narrator doesn't sound like a teenage boy but rather like an adult reading to a child. This detracted from the listen.

I am incredibly disappointed in the fact that this is NOT the version that is read by Jeff Woodman. It's my own fault for not listening to the sample, but, all the same, when I heard that other voice reading for Sam Gribley, my heart sunk. Please purchase with caution, as the Jeff Woodman version is FAR superior. I don't know why this version even exists.

10 y.o. boy (ADD and dyslexic) read at his 4th grade teachers recommendation, immediately after finishing 'Hatchet'. Did NOT like it - no danger, the cartoon-ish Disney-like "everything was easy" did not ring true. He then wrote a paper comparing the 2 books (which was very successful).

Mom: He isn't wrong in his assessment of "this just sounds too happy happy joy joy".

Adventure - Resourcefulness - Ingenuity

The winter scene when the ice storm drapes the mountain was fascinating to read about.

No

No

This book is made for now. We all need to understand that we can and should know how to survive on our own. It therefore is an inspiring read.

I would definitely recommend this audiobook to friends and family of all ages. This audiobook entertains as well as educates.

The honesty. The author didn't sugar-coat the difficulties and hardships while maintaining the spirit of the young man.

The tone, inflection, and clarity of his voice. He brought the spirit of Sam to life and gave each character a distinct voice and made them all interesting.

Yes, this is an audiobook that makes one want to continue to the end! I never found the book lagging or making me want to skip anything!

Great book: very entertaining; interesting; informative; and enlightening. Christian Rummel pulls you into the story and holds your attention.

The shear will power of a young boy to take on the hardships of living off the land.

Yes, I would listen to this story again as it was easy reading, easy listening. Narrator had a pleasant voice.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. Both stories are about youths who are living on their own away from civilization and need to be self-reliant.

The very end (spoiler alert) when he tells his parents, "you'll spoil everything!"

I had a few chuckles, but as an adult I have a different view than that of my 12-yr-old. She said that book made her think differently about exploring "wilderness". She's never been hiking and is now thinking about going if the opportunity ever arises.

NOTE to AUDIBLE - the narrator skipped a page! Penguin paperback version skips page 148.

I don't recall what promoted me to revisit this children's classic, but by the time I listened to it, I was staying in a small village in the Andes--not exactly a hollow tree, but close enough. That environment made listening to the tale a special experience that reading a book couldn't quite match. It's a simple story, though loaded with exquisite details of nature, and almost naively drawn by today's standards. Christian Rummel's youthful, almost breathless reading brings a wide-eyed, curious boy to life, and makes it work beautifully. If you'd ever wished you could run away and live in the woods, this is almost as good.