First read in elementary school and has been a favorite ever since ( )

Runaway Sam Gribley is surviving in the Catskill Mountains with only a penknife, a ball of cord, $40, and some flint and steel. Along the way, he learns about courage, danger, and independence during his year in the wilderness, a year that will change his life forever.

It is an adventurous book, and I learned some new things from it. It is about a boy who runs away and lives in a tree that he howled out. He scavenges for food and makes things that are essential for living out of natural things like wood. It is a really good book that my brother and I enjoyed reading.

I really liked this book when I was young. I wished I could take off into the woods with a Frightful to keep me company! :) I wonder what I would think of it now?

Sam Gribley runs away from his family in New York City to live in the wilderness. He is well versed in how to manage survival in the woods, and with very few errors succeeds quite well, living over a year completely on his own. Apart from this, there is not much of a plot. Sam explains how he survives. In spite of the fact that not much happens, George's writing is engaging enough that book is never boring.
That said, I was quite bothered that he is running away form a seemingly loving family, with no reason other than a desire to survive on his own. Sam says nothing throughout the entire book to either suggest a reason he wanted to leave his family, or to hint that he is missing them at all. The last chapter touches on this a little, but this complete lack of expression of love for his family or his family's love for him pulls this down to a three-star rating for me. ( )