When I Was Young in the Mountains

By: Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated: Diane Goode

This is a story of past memories and growing up. The author is reminiscing about when she was young and lived in the mountains. I did not grow up near mountains so I thought this would be an interesting read. My first thought was, Did Cynthia Rylant grow up in the mountains? Just because she wrote a story about it doesn't necessarily mean it's true. I would probably think she did, though.

Most times, but not all, each page starts with "When I was young in the mountains." It's like the author wanted to remind, or really stress, the setting because this is the basis for the entire story. About half of the pages in the book have no illustrations-just text. The other half does have illustrations and text, but the text is not printed on the pictures. It seems to be nice and simple and I would believe this is how mountain life is. The pictures are detailed, but not in an "in your face" kind of way. The illustrations are very quaint. There must be a lot of snakes in the mountains because they are mentioned a few times. This makes me feel very happy I did not grow up in the mountains.

From what I gather, the author was happy and satisfied with her life because on the last page, she stated she never wanted to go to the ocean or desert or anywhere else for that matter. She felt her life, the one she lived growing up, was enough. Now that she's older, does she still feel the same way?