When I Was young In The Mountains By: Cynthia Rylant

Caldecott Honor Book

When I Was Young In The Mountains was a very sweet book of memories. It tells the story of all of the very special things the narrator did in the mountains as a young girl visiting her grandparents. It portrays strong family ties and unity. It also tells of the importance of even simple activities with family. I am not sure how this book would go over with todays students. I realize some have country connections and I feel they would really enjoy this book but I feel that others would not have the background knowledge to make meaningful connections. Another thought is that students could realate this book and the illustrations to colonial times. For example, using the out house or taking a bath in a large bucket on the front porch.
The last page was my favorite. It reads:
When I was young in the mounatins, I never wanted to go to the ocean, and I never wanted to go to the desert. I never wanted to go anywhere else in the world, for I was in the mountains. And that was always enough.
That was so powerful. So many people want more and more and as a society we are moving further and further away from simplicity. The message in this book is that simple can be perfect.