Award-winner- Newbery Honor Book-1955
My mom mentioned the other week how she read this book in high school and enjoyed it.
Rudi Matt's father, Josef Matt, died while trying to climb the Citadel in the Alps. Although his mother and his uncle are determined to keep him safe, Rudi occasionally sneaks off the mountains to climb. Then one day a British climber, John Winter, enters the town seeking an Alpine guide to climb to the Citadel's summit. Since Josef Matt's death, the town's guides are full of superstitution and fear. As a result, they refuse to escort him. Then Rudi discovers Winter has hired another guide, Saxo, from a nearby town. He joins them to climb the Citadel and to honor his father.
Mr. Ullman based the book on the first climbing of the Matterhorn, "drawing on fact for the making of fiction". (from the Author's Note)
Beautiful descriptions of the Alps and the art of climbing. Mr. Ullman was a member of the the first American expedition to Mount Everst. His detailed writing displays he was a climber/mountaineer himself.
Warning: occasional swearing-d***, Rudi lies to adults several times.
*Highly recommend.
-Borrowed from the library.
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