Frightful's Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel

The books arrived in great shape. They were bigger than I expected. My 10 yr old nephew was glad to have them, but I think he would have preferred they were smaller and paper back, not hard cover. Over all, beautifully illustrations

This fifth installment in the Sam Gribley / My Side of the Mountain chronology is a beautifully illustrated (by two-time Caldecott Honorist Daniel San Souci) picture book. Earlier books in the series are MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (1959), ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (1990), FRIGHTFUL'S MOUNTAIN (1999), and FRIGHTFUL'S DAUGHTER (2002), a picture book also illustrated by San Souci. As with the previous books, this installment deals with Sam Gribley and "his" falcons. While almost 50 years have passed since the first book, Sam Gribley is still the same ageless boy of MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, still living in his hollow hemlock tree. While Frightful's daughter, Oksi, and her mate, Falco, are raising their two eyases (chicks) in a high nest box constructed by Sam, Baron weasel repeatedly seeks to catch the two young birds as food for his own offspring. When he finally succeeds in gaining entry to the nest box, the two young falcons, previously reluctant to take wing, suddenly achieve their first flight to escape this predator. They fly off toward the river and its cliffs, "where peregrine falcons belong," bringing us full circle back to the habitat of their great-grandparents, the cliff dwelling falcons of MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN from whom Sam steals the young eyas he names Frightful. This book could certainly serve as a satisfying conclusion to the series, but it's doubtless that George's legions of fans would welcome yet another book in the ongoing saga.