Books with title Life in the Mountains

Eight-year-old Molly and her 10-year-old brother, Ralph, are inseparable, in league with each other against the stodgy and stupid routines of school and daily life; against their prim mother and prissy older sisters; against the world of authority and perhaps the world itself. One summer, they are sent from the genteel Los Angeles suburb that is their home to back-country Colorado, where their uncle Claude has a ranch. There the children encounter an enchanting new world - savage, direct, beautiful, untamed - to which, over the next few years, they will return regularly, enjoying a delicious double life. And yet at the same time this other sphere, about which they are both so passionate, threatens to come between their passionate attachment to each other. Molly dreams of growing up to be a writer, yet clings ever more fiercely to the special world of childhood. Ralph for his part feels the growing challenge, and appeal, of impending manhood. Youth and innocence are hurtling toward a devastating end.

Isabella Lucy Bird (1831-1904) was a nineteenth-century English traveller, writer, and a natural historian. Bird finally left Britain in 1872, going first to Australia, which she disliked, and then to Hawaii (known in Europe as the Sandwich Islands), her love for which prompted her second book (published three years later). While there she climbed Mauna Loa and visited Queen Emma. She then moved on to Colorado, then the newest member of the United States, where she had heard the air was excellent for the infirm. Dressed practically and riding not sidesaddle but frontwards like a man (though she threatened to sue the Times for saying she dressed like one), she covered over 800 miles in the Rocky Mountains in 1873. Her letters to her sister, first printed in the magazine Leisure Hour, comprised her fourth and perhaps most famous book, A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. Bird's time in the Rockies was enlivened especially by her acquaintance with Jim Nugent, a textbook outlaw with one eye and an affinity for violence and poetry. "A man any woman might love but no sane woman would marry," Bird declared in a section excised from her letters prior to their publication. Nugent also seemed captivated by the independently-minded Bird, but she ultimately left the Rockies and her "dear desperado" Nugent was shot dead less than a year later. At home, Bird again found herself pursued, this time by John Bishop, an Edinburgh doctor in his thirties. Predictably ill, she went traveling again, this time to the far east: Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.

This evocative and lively travelogue by Isabella L. Bird lifts the veil of the culture of Colorado and the Rocky Mountains as it was in the 1870s. We find in this classic travel book an authentic and eloquent portrayal of the beautiful peaks and breathtaking landscapes of rural North America. Braving the craggy landscape on horseback and on foot, the author manages to conquer some of the area's most awe-inspiring ranges, while also observing life in several settlements and towns around the state of Colorado. The sheer toughness of the author shines through each of her letters. Her descriptions do not flinch from accuracy, as she notes the sub-zero temperatures, fierce drafts of wind, and other perils of the untamed landscape. Most notably of all however is Isabella Bird's steely determination and doggedness in confronting, and surmounting, the Rocky Mountains. Only a few decades prior to Isabella L. Bird's arrival in the Rockies, it was an uncharted wilderness, settled only by the Native American populations and explored only by fur trappers. Even in the 1870s, nearly all of the locale remained untouched; nature, in all its glory, offered travelers a myriad of beautiful sights. For her part, the author was drawn to the locale due to her health; the brisk mountain airs were said to invigorate the lungs and spirit. Throughout her life, the author wrote many accounts of her travels. Her descriptions are frank yet poetic, grand yet down-to-Earth - despite the hardships, Bird rarely lapsed into complaining. Instead we receive an impression not merely of awe-inspiring and exotic locales, but of the fierce and capable personality of the journeys' narrator.

Frog is missing! He's lost in the mountains.Can Wren, a spunky, nature-loving, explorer find her missing cousin? With her new dog, Rattler anything is possible. Meet Wren Frankenberger, a bright and curious 10-year-old, who wanders the Tennessee mountains behind her house, learning, sketching, and adventuring. Nothing will get in the way of Wren finding her cousin. Bears, snakes and blueberry patches won’t slow her down!Will Wren’s wit and wilderness experience save her cousin? Will Rattler prove his worth? Get it now, and join the adventure!Especially for teachers! This story has a glossary of new vocabulary words perfect for classroom use (grade 2-3).

Dressed practically and riding not sidesaddle but frontwards like a man (though she threatened to sue the Times for saying she dressed like one), she covered over 800 miles in the Rocky Mountains in 1873. Her letters to her sister, first printed in the magazine Leisure Hour, comprised her fourth and perhaps most famous book, A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains. Bird's time in the Rockies was enlivened especially by her acquaintance with Jim Nugent, "Rocky Mountain Jim", a textbook outlaw with one eye and an affinity for violence and poetry. "A man any woman might love but no sane woman would marry," Bird declared in a section excised from her letters before their publication. Nugent also seemed captivated by the independent-minded Bird, but she ultimately left the Rockies and her "dear desperado." Nugent was shot dead less than a year later. Other notable books by Isabella Bird include Unbeaten Tracks in Japan, Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Among the Tibetans, and The Englishwoman in America.

Eight-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother Ralph are inseparable, in league with each other against the stodgy and stupid routines of school and daily life; against their prim mother and prissy older sisters; against the world of authority and perhaps the world itself. One summer they are sent from the genteel Los Angeles suburb that is their home to backcountry Colorado, where their uncle Claude has a ranch. There the children encounter an enchanting new world—savage, direct, beautiful, untamed—to which, over the next few years, they will return regularly, enjoying a delicious double life. And yet at the same time this other sphere, about which they are both so passionate, threatens to come between their passionate attachment to each other. Molly dreams of growing up to be a writer, yet clings ever more fiercely to the special world of childhood. Ralph for his part feels the growing challenge, and appeal, of impending manhood. Youth and innocence are hurtling toward a devastating end.