The Farthest-Away Mountain

by Lynne Reid Banks

Book Overview

Once upon a time, in a village nestled in a mountain valley, lived a girl named Darkin. Darkin wants three things more than anything else: to visit the farthest-away mountain, to meet a gargoyle, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380713039
• ISBN13: 9780380713035
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: HarperTrophy
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

One of my most memorable and happy part of my childhood

I remember my mother reading this book to my twin sister and me. It was a hard back copy that she had gotten from the Library. My sister and I would come down out of our bunk beds and sit on the floor with my mother as we were enthralled to listen to her read this story. I loved the colored snow and the gargoyals. When I was married and had my first child I desired to read this book to my son and I did but it was mostly for me since he was only a few months old at the time. I will read it to him again. But I love this book. This story is a great treasure to me that I will always remember.

Amazing!! What a treasure!!

I discovered this book when I was in the Fourth grade and have read it about 5-6 times a year since then! Now that I am in my early 20's Dakin and her hopeful attitude and her high spirits always bring me comfort and courage through tough times in my life. I have shared this book with children I have met and every one of them discovered the same magic and mystery I did when I was a little girl! Lynne Reid Banks is an amazing author who puts all the hopes and fears any 15 year old girl experiences into the heart and mind of Dakin, a heroine we all truly fall in love with! This is my favorite book of all time and I will cherish it always!

the best book ever

This is a classic fairy tale about an adventuresome little girl who is drawn to a mountain that is considered evil by the people of her village. During her journey she encounters an ogre, gargoyles, a magic pool, a frog, an evil witch, and more! The suspenseful tale captures the imagination and leaves children on the edge of their seat. I read it every year to my second grade class. The kids LOVE this book and have (through various years) been motivated to act the story out, write their own fairy tales, discuss the elements of fairy tales, and more!This book is not widely known. Maybe that is a good thing because then someone would want to make it into a movie, thus diminishing the use of imagination and sense of enjoyment that kids gain from hearing this story. BUT, I believe every child would benefit from hearing such a fantastic tale, and for that I am sad it is not better known and more highly regarded.

Magic...

I picked this book up at our elementary school book fair, at random ... I'm so glad I did! I had to write this review because of the Horn Book review, which is right up at the top of the page, and so out of touch with what works for kids. "Slight?" The illustrations "contrived?" Couldn't be more wrong. I was in the fourth or fifth grade, maybe, when I read this book, and I'm twenty now, and looking back, this book just utterly captured me. Completely consumed me, in that amazing way that books can when you're that age. I was in the story, and magic was real, and I hurt for the gargoyles, and I cheered for Dakin ... I don't know, I think you have to be a childhood book-devourer to understand what that perfect book can be to a kid. Books like that are why I want to be a writer, so that people can get lost in my worlds like I got lost in that one. And the illustrations were part of the magic. In this case, "melodramatic" worked. Kids (well, kids like me, at least) like fantasy. Honestly, I suppose if I'd read this book for the first time as a twenty year old, I might have been passive about it ... but I remember what it was to be a kid, and so open to magic and wonder and so able to lose myself in other worlds and other circumstances. I'm so glad to have picked it up and experienced it ... give yourself the opportunity, whether you're a kid or an adult (in which case, maybe you'll get to feel like a kid for a little while).

Enchanting

This is one of my favorite books from childhood, and I have kept it with me all these years. I recently reread it, and rediscovered the magic again. I absolutely recommend this book (and any anything else the author has written)for everyone. You are never too old for a little magic and fantasy in your life. :o)