When the Great Depression hits, Ellie and her family are forced to sell their house full of all their nice things and make a life for themselves in the woods on Echo Mountain. They build their own house and learn to hunt and grow their own food. Ellie, her younger brother, and her father thrive in their new environment but her mother and older sister are reluctant transplants and miss their fine city ways. Then, tragedy strikes and Father ends up in a coma. Without him to hunt, they struggle to feed themselves. Ellie tries everything to wake her father, even venturing to the top of the mountain where the old hag lives. The mountain has always provided for her before, but will it be able to give her the cure she seeks?
I loved this lyrical novel about the wonders of nature and the strength required to follow your own path. Ellie's voice is wise and wonderful. Even as she faces gruesome situations, she describes them in ways that are somehow both matter-of-fact and beautifully embellished. Ellie is a tender-hearted animal lover, but she is also capable to doing hard things if she has to. I particularly enjoyed reading about her relationships to her family and how her understanding of them changes over time. The old hag is one of my favorite characters and a great lesson in first impressions. This story is great for animal lovers too with dogs playing a big role.
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
4th - 8th grades
Tags: animals, character driven, family life, historical fiction, SEL
I loved this lyrical novel about the wonders of nature and the strength required to follow your own path. Ellie's voice is wise and wonderful. Even as she faces gruesome situations, she describes them in ways that are somehow both matter-of-fact and beautifully embellished. Ellie is a tender-hearted animal lover, but she is also capable to doing hard things if she has to. I particularly enjoyed reading about her relationships to her family and how her understanding of them changes over time. The old hag is one of my favorite characters and a great lesson in first impressions. This story is great for animal lovers too with dogs playing a big role.
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
4th - 8th grades
Tags: animals, character driven, family life, historical fiction, SEL
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