Banner in the Sky

Image from : www.goodreads.com

by James Ramsey Ullman

I have to admit I was giddy about reading this book with my oldest son as it was a favourite of mine growing up. Our grade 7 teacher read it to us in class and I have read it to a couple of Grade 5 classes back in the day. I have many fond memories of this book.

It is a story of a boy named Rudi Matt who lives in the shadow of a mighty mountain called the Citadel. His life's dream is to climb the mountain but his mother will not allow him to become a climber because his father died attempting to climb the Citadel many years before.

Despite his mother's best intentions to save him from the dangers of mountain climbing, Rudi is compelled to climb and often finds himself doing exactly what he isn't supposed to be doing. One day on a forbidden adventure he finds a climber stuck in a crevasse and single handedly rescues him. The man is Captain Winter, a famous climber, who has come to Kurtal to convince some guides in the village to attempt a climb of the Citadel.

Rudi sees that with Captain Winter his goal of climbing the Citadel is within his reach. However, his mother and uncle would never allow such a climb. Will his dream become reality and will Captain Winter even find a guide who is brave enough to attempt a summit? I definitely suggest reading this book to find out!

Parent Point: This book is older and is not easily available. You can purchase it through online sources but it is not often in library collections any longer and I would be surprised to find it in a store.