Maxwell's Mountain

This cute children’s picture book reminds students that whatever they put their mind to, they can accomplish it. Maxwell’s Mountain is about a young boy named Maxwell that is bored playing on the same old playground. He wants to climb the mountain where the ‘big kids’ play. His parents both agree that he is too small and not old enough to climb the mountain in the park. They tell him that only a true outdoorsman could climb the mountain. This gives Maxwell an idea. He decides to find out everything he needs to know about what it means to be a good outdoorsman. Maxwell begins by getting books from the library and researching about how to be a good outdoorsman and how to climb mountains. Then he made a list of things he had to do. Maxwell began to train for climbing the mountain by climbing the staircase four times every day. Next, he made a map of the mountain marking out the trail. Lastly, he put together a backpack with a first aid kit and other items he must need in order to be successful climbing the mountain. All prepared, Maxwell begins his journey the next day. During his climb, he gets lost! But he soon remembers what his mother said about good outdoorsman. Maxwell uses his head and finds the trail again. He makes it to the tippy top and gets rewarded with a view of the city and the ocean.

Maxwell’s story is very similar to lots of young elementary children’s stories. All kids face something that they are “too small” for or “not old enough”. Kids also face many challenges that they are going to have to do lots of things in order to accomplish it, like Maxwell. Because of this, students can relate to this story. They will be able to make connections between their lives and Maxwell’s life. If I was teaching younger elementary students, I would use this book to help students not only set goals, but also set a plan of how they will accomplish that goal. This is an important life lesson to teach students and this book exemplifies this perfectly. I also think that boys would really enjoy this book- so I would definitely want to include this in my classroom library. Lastly, the art work in this picture book is really unique. I love how you have to flip the book to see the entire size of the mountain. It gives the students a different perspective, which I would like them to do in their own artwork. Definitely a cute picture book that will be added to my classroom library one day!

Maxwell's Mountain

Author: Shari Becker

Illustrator: Nicole Wong

Year Published: 2006