Top 16 Books Like My Side Of The Mountain Updated 04 /2024

Hatchet (Brian's Saga, #1) by Gary Paulsen

On his way to visit his father in Canada, Brian's plane's pilot suffers a heart attack. In order to avoid a collision with a lake, Brian crashes his plane and is left stranded in the wilds of northern Canada with nothing but the clothes on his back and the hatchet his mother had given him just days before he left.

His secret about his mother and the impending divorce had already left Brian feeling depressed, but now the loneliness and desolation have set in. Brian is exhausted, terrified, and hungry as he tries to locate food and build a shelter. The woods are unfamiliar to him, so he must cultivate new levels of awareness and patience as he navigates them. It's possible that the water is not safe to drink. If so, how dangerous are the berries that he finds?

When an invading porcupine unexpectedly teaches Brian how to start a fire, a tornado teaches him how to recover supplies from the submerged plane. Most importantly, Brian overcomes his feelings of self-pity as he fights for his life.

This gripping tale of survival and transformation has inspired a new generation of readers to try their hand at wilderness exploration.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

In the Pacific Ocean, there is a large island that resembles a large fish that is sunbathing. Blue dolphins, otters, sea elephants, and sea birds abound in the waters surrounding it. The island was once home to a group of Indians. One young girl was left behind when they set sail for the east. — This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who was abandoned on the Island of the Blue Dolphins and had to fend for herself for several years. A ship would come to pick her up every year as she watched one season turn into the next. But in the meantime, she stayed alive by constructing a shelter, forging weapons, gathering food, and battling the wild dogs. Natural beauty and self-discovery are just some of the elements that make this story so fascinating.

Brian's Winter (Brian's Saga, #3) by Gary Paulsen

He'd have to come up with a way to defend himself, some kind of weapon. When it was burning, the fire worked well, but it had extinguished itself. When it came to hunting bears with his hatchet and knife, they would have done nothing but make the bear angry, which he didn't like to think about. A fool bird or a rabbit was the biggest target in his archery bag, so it was doubtful that the bow could propel an arrow far enough to do anything other than make a bear mad.

That night, as the last of the warm weather had arrived, he tucked himself into his bag. Wood continued to be piled on the fire, as if he feared the bear might return. He kept trying to come up with a solution as he went along.

However, the bear was not his main threat. Neither was the wolf, or any other animal for that matter. To make matters worse, he'd neglected the most basic of rules in his quest to hunt, fish, and survive: always pay attention to what is going on around you. His failure to notice that summer was coming to an end and that what was to come would be the most dangerous thing he'd faced since the plane crash had been his undoing in nature.

The River (Brian's Saga, #2) by Gary Paulsen

"We want you to do it again," they say.

As a result of these words, Brian Robeson's life will be forever altered. Brian had been stranded in the woods for 54 days with nothing but a small hatchet two years prior. Even so, he survived. Now the government wants him to do it all over again—to return to the wilderness so that astronauts and the military can learn the survival techniques that saved Brian's life..

Derek Holtzer, a government psychologist, will accompany him this time around to observe and record his actions. Derek, however, was struck by lightning during a freak storm and fell into a coma. There's no power in their radio transmitter. Dehydration could kill Derek if Brian doesn't get him to a doctor quickly. Only if the map he has is correct will he be able to get Derek to a trading post a hundred miles downstream.

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

DiCamillo's best-selling debut novel is now available in paperback digest form.

With her debut novel, "Winn-Dixie," Kate DiCamillo established herself as one of children's literature's most beloved authors and characters, a Newbery Honor winner, the inspiration for a popular film adaptation, as well as a treasured classic that has captivated generations. More people will be able to enjoy the magic of this story now that it is available in a convenient paperback digest format.

 

Opal, the preacher's daughter, visits Winn-Dixie the summer before she and her family move to Naomi, Florida, and comes out with a dog. Suffering dog with an excellent sense of humor. a dog she refers to as Winn-Dixie; During Opal's first year, the preacher tells her about her mother's long absence thanks to Winn-Dixie. Winn-Dixie and Opal meet the local librarian, Miss Franny Block, who once fought off a bear with a copy of WAR AND PEACE in her hands. At Gloria Dump's pet shop they meet an ex-con named Otis who plays his guitar and releases all of the animals he has kept there after hours.

All summer long, Opal spends her time reminiscing about her newfound friends and pondering the loss of her mother. It may be because of Winn-Dixie, or perhaps she has matured as a person, that Opal comes to understand that friendship—and forgiveness—can strike without warning, like a summer storm.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

That which she left behind on a Caribbean island, Kit Tyler knows that her new home in Connecticut Colony will be nothing like that at all. A tropical bird in the wrong part of the world, she feels trapped and alone in the strict Puritan community where her relatives live. Only in the meadows, where she meets the old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond and her young sailor friend Nat, does Kit truly feel free. If anyone finds out about Kit and the "witch," they'll be filled with suspicion, apprehension, and anger. Witchcraft is being leveled against her!

---