The Impossible Mountain

PreS-Gr 2–Mountains call to us with their grandeur, their difficulty, their inscrutability. They beckon us onward and upward. Anna is a young girl with purple hair who has grown up with her little brother Finn in a walled city. She has been told that the huge, stone wall protects everyone, but when she finally looks over the wall, she is completely unprepared for the dramatic, snow-capped mountain that she sees thrusting upward. At that moment, she knows she’ll leave the safety of the village to climb the mountain and that she’ll bring along Finn. As the two young children set off, the entire village urgently reminds them that they are being foolish. Undeterred, they leave. Fabulous spreads depict the great and terrifying beauties of nature that the children encounter, from the raging waterfall to the den of a gigantic bear. By taking obstacles one at a time and by supporting each other, they reach the summit. As they stand atop their known world, they realize how small their village is, but they also realize that the world is full of mountains “waiting to be climbed.”