If you (or your child) likes “Hatchet” or “My Side of the Mountain”, try this book. What did bother me was the adult narrator’s pronunciation of “Bangor.” It’s “BANG-gore.” And I’ve always heard “Fendler” pronounced just how it looks “FEND-ler.” The narrator says “FIN-ler”. That is the whole vocabulary list you need to remember. Donn used the term “Christmas” for surprise rather than a swear word. “Reefer” is coat, “Dungarees” are blue jeans (the word my grandfather always used for them). I listened this time waiting for words that would have affected my listen. This event happened and the book published over eighty years ago - of course the language is different. Based on the true account of a boys harrowing journey through the vast wilderness of the Katahdin Mountains, Lost on a Mountain in Maine is a gripping survival. I don’t understand the review that said the out of date language was a problem. This true story, loved by generations of Maine schoolchildren and enjoying a boom in popularity recently, tells the exciting tale of twelve-year-old Donn. Fendler used to visit Maine schoolrooms and talk to the children about his experiences and I’ve always wished I could have gone to one of those talks. If anything, I feel for this little boy more now that I’m an adult and more firmly understand what could have been. Katahdin, at 5268 feet the highest peak in the state of Maine, with his father, brothers Tom and Ryan, and guide Henry. I read it first forty years ago and it hasn’t lost any of its magic since then. Most children in Maine schools have to read Lost on a Mountain in Maine - the story of Donn Fendler is very familiar here.
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