Estimated Reading Time 2 Minutes
Publisher: HarperTeen; Reprint edition (April 15, 1988)
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN: 978-0064470483
Thoughts: I’ve been in love with this book since I first read it in sixth grade. It’s an old friend that I’ve come back to again and again. It’s a story of conquering a physical mountain but like that famous Edmund Hillary quote, “It’s not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” This book teaches that lesson while taking you along on an adventure that you won’t forget.
Favorite Quote: It is the ultimate wisdom of the mountains that a man is never more a man than when he is striving for what is beyond his grasp.
First sentence: In the heart of the Swiss Alps, on the high frontier between earth and sky, stands one of the great mountains of the world.
Summary from Amazon.com:
A timeless outdoor adventure story, winner of a Newbery Honor, that will appeal to fans of Hatchet and Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild and Into Thin Air.
Josef Matt, the only man to ever try to conquer this last summit of the Alps, met his end in the pursuit. Now his son, Rudi, dares to complete the same task in memory of his father. Setting off with his father’s red shirt, Rudi must courageously pass through the same chasm that took his father’s life and finish the challenging climb in order to plant the shirt at the peak.
Banner in the Sky works well for both independent and classroom reading. The author’s own mountaineering adventures bring to life the struggles of sixteen-year-old Rudi to overcome his family’s objections and conquer the summit that killed his father.
As author Allison Tebo put it: “We can feel the rock scrapping our palms, feel our toes grasping for footholds. The thin rope cutting into our waist is the only thing that makes the difference between balance—and an endless plunge. We feel the ice-wind slicing through us, feel the blue sky that is bluest of all in a mountain shining on us, feel the savage storm screaming in our ears…feel the victory of the summit beating in our hearts.”
This exciting mountain climbing adventure of a young dishwasher who dreams of being a mountain guide like his father features compelling themes about conquering fear, working toward a goal, and banding together in shared sacrifice.
