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Books similar to My Side of the Mountain
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I am almost finished reading aloud My Side of the Mountain to my 7 year old son. He is an advanced reader (can easily read this book independently) and loves all things wilderness survival. He spends his free time pouring over survival guidebooks and this evening began making a list of all the edible plants listed in the book so he can research them more. He’s also experimenting with constructing traps from this book and others. While he loves the guidebooks, I would love to find more living books to inspire his imagination. Do you know of any books that would be along the same lines with appropriate content for a 7 year old? Thanks for any suggestions you may have!
Following this for my own info as well!
I’ve heard good things about the Hatchet series by Gary Paulsen, which has a recommended age of 8-12. I can’t vouch for it, though. My son is only 6, and we are just beginning to delve into books like this.
There are two more books in the My Side series. I haven’t read them, but my two older daughters enjoyed them greatly.
You might also read Rascal by Sterling North. It’s not a survival story as such, but it takes place during WWI (true story of this time in Sterling North’s childhood) and has great wilderness settings, traps, botany, animals, independence and coming of age. I have read it aloud to all three of my girls and my youngest one (7 in a few weeks) has requested it about five times.
Hatchet is good but a bit intense for one so young. A boy gets in a plane wreck, the pilot dies, and the boy has to survive on his own.
Rascal is wonderful! It’s also a great book for nature study.
Your son might enjoy biographies on Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. Books on various Indian tribes might be an option as well. We really enjoyed the ones by Sonia Bleeker.
I thought of another one! Swiss Family Robinson. It’s very unrealistic at times but my kids have always loved it and there’s lots of adventure and learning to survive in the wilderness.
At that age, my boys enjoyed Sign of the Beaver, as well as the Little House books esp Big Woods and Farmer Boy, as they included pictures and descriptions of trapping, smoking meat in a log, etc. 2nd vote for Swiss Family Robinson (recommend unabridged or you miss a whole lot)
We also began reading aloud Arthur Ransom’s Swallows and Amazon’s series. Not survival exactly, but the children do boat, cook, adventure and camp on their own. Some of the books have had a chapter or so about a ghost story or witching for water with sticks, but I just skipped those parts, as we so enjoyed the majority.
I read Owls in the Family last night and laughed so hard that I cried! It’s not a survival story, but it is set in Saskatchewan and would be good for a 7yo.
Thank you, ladies for the suggestions! We read through the Little House series during his kindergarten year, and he loved them! He continues to enjoy listening to them as audiobooks (which I enjoy too). I’ll look into some of these suggestions. Thanks again!
Hatchet and Sign of the Beaver are similar stories in some ways. We have watched Sign of the Beaver video, but not have not read the book. But, I do know that Sign of the Beaver would be more gentle reading, in content and language, than Hatchet. I had heard years ago that the language in Hatchet was not good. Public schools use the book, but we won’t. After some checking, I found that in three places the name of the Lord is taken in vain, plus another swear word. Some of the content is also a concern. Just a warning to those who are looking for wholesome books.
The Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter
The next two books in the My Side of the Mountain trilogy.
Old Yeller
Scott O’Dell books
Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett books/accounts
Sign of the Beaver
I think the sequels to My Side of the Mountain are titled On the Far Side of the Mountain and Frightful’s Mountain. Both are good.
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