My favorite book as a child was My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George.  I was 11 when I bought my first copy – a paperback, pulp paper, Scholastic Book Fair edition – and I devoured it.  I wanted to be Sam Gribley with my whole soul – still do!  It created a lifelong love of wilderness, falconry, and it was the book that REALLY lit my internal fire for reading and story telling.  I devoured the book, read it 4 times, leaving the pages tattered, and passed it on to a friend that had the same reaction (We had a mini pre-pubescent male book club for a couple of years).  I then read Julie of the Wolves, The Talking Earth, and so many other books of hers.  I bought and read Sam’s tale again when I was 16, a couple more times as an adult, and own the two sequels, the 2 additional picture books,  and the related cookbook.  I have the Kindle and Audio book editions and a DVD of the 1969 film just for good measure.  Side note:  This was the first time that I experienced the “ I liked the book better than the movie” phenomenon that we all know so well.

When daughter was born, I bought a nice copy of Julie of the Wolves for her with both original illustrations and supplemental maps and wolf/artic photos.  It was a major purchase for me during that time in my young life.  Shortly after my son was born, I happened upon a nice hardcover of My Side of the Mountain in a local bookshop and bought it for him.  My hope was for us all to read the books together when the kids were old enough. 

I met Mrs. George briefly in 1995 and while I would like to tell you how I went on at length about her contribution to my life and my appreciation for her work, that didn’t happen…  I was awestruck and mumbled a ‘thank you’ before walking away with a stupid smile.

A few weeks later, I built up the courage to write her and ask if she would sign the copies of my kids books.  She wrote back less than a week later, saying she remembered me and agreed to sign the books!  I was over the moon and they went into the mail the next day.  Two weeks later I got back a neatly wrapped package containing the books with not only a signature, but she had written a dedication to both of my kids in the books and had made a small sketch of Julie in one and a full page drawing of Sam and Frightful (READ THE BOOKS!) in the other.  I ugly cried!  I fired off a ‘thank you’ letter and treasured the books for years in my own secret book horde, before relenting and giving the books to the kids, along with paperback reading copies and a tale of how special the books really were.

I should have taken pictures of the notes and illustrations before I let them go, but I wasn’t thinking.  I do not have a picture of the Julie illustration, but I have ones of Sam and Frightful that my son took with his phone and sent me last year.  After a little snafu with some files and some lost pictures, I figured if I put them here online that I would never lose them and sharing this story warms me from the inside.

I will be forever grateful to Mrs. George for the words written, stories told, and the time she took to reach out and do something wonderful for my children and I.  Read the books.  Read them with your kids and grandkids.  Give copies as gifts.