| Summary: | George, Jean Craighead. Frightful's Mountain. Dutton, 1999. ISBN 0-525-46166-3. $15.99. 258 pp. A 4+ FI Reviewed by Sandra L. Tidwell This is the third book in a trilogy about Sam Gribley, who lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Frightful, Sam's trained falcon, is now on her own, but she yearns to find again the security of the “one mountain among thousands of mountains, the one hemlock tree among millions of trees, and Sam.” As Frightful's instincts strengthen and her imprinting on humans diminishes, she learns how to hunt in the wild, to brood chicks, to mate, and finally to migrate. Events in Frightful's life encourage conservationist actions to fix electric transformer poles and to protect falcon nesting sites. The “bad guys,” a group of ruthless falcon poachers, are also part of the action. This book is a great way to learn more about the work of falconers and wildlife service officers, and how even children can help preserve endangered species. As George states in her “Afterword,” both fictitious and real characters are part of this conservationist-oriented novel. Jon and Susan Wood and Perry Knowlton are real falconers. Heinz Meng, a professor at State University of New York at New Paltz, who raised the first peregrine falcon in captivity, is also introduced to readers. George challenges her readers by using words such as “bole,” “stridulating,” “aerie,” and “nictitating.” George does an admirable job in expressing Frightful's unique perspective. However, I found some of the transitions between Frightful's actions and the conversation of other characters in the book to be awkward and confusing. Most of the locations in the novel are real, and at the front of the book readers can find a map showing the Catskill Mountains of New York, the places referred to in the book, and a map of Frightful's migration flyway. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., also a falconer, is the author of the foreword. xii, 258 p. : ill., map 21 cm. Children's Book and Play Review, May / June 2000
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