My Side of the Mountain Trilogy (My Side of the Mountain / On the Far Side of the Mountain / Frightful's Mountain)
Asked why the writing of the My Side of the Mountain trilogy took Jean  Craighead George more than 40 years, she responds, "My mother disapproved of  sequels. 'Those are trashy books,' she told me when I was a child. So I grew up  and did not write them."But kids are wiser than adults, I learned. Letters kept arriving from schools  and homes, saying, 'We want to know more about Sam, Frightful, and the  wilderness.' 'Sequels,' they said, 'are important.' They were right."Now, all three of George's remarkable novels about the wilderness adventures of  young Sam Gribley and his falcon, Frightful, are available in one handsome  volume. InMy Side of the  Mountain, a Newbery Honor Book, Sam leaves home to fend for himself in  the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. For a year he lives in a  hollowed-out tree, befriending animals and depending on his wits for survival.  In the sequel,On the Far Side of  the Mountain, Sam's sister has now joined him, and his falcon is  confiscated by a conservation officer.Frightful's Mountainis an  interesting departure for George. Written from the perspective of Frightful the  falcon, the concluding novel in the trilogy follows her efforts to learn to  depend on her own instincts in a world crawling with dangers.Jean Craighead George is the beloved author of more than 80 books, including the  Newbery Medal winner,Julie of  the Wolves. (Ages 9 and older)--Emilie Coulter