My Side of the Mountain was written in the 1950s, when women's roles were tied closely to the job of preparing food for their families. It is not unreasonable, therefore, that Sam's mother appears interested primarily in making sure that Sam has enough to eat. But given the typical idea of the close-knit family of that era, the reader may be surprised that Mrs. Gribley does not immediately search for her son or seem to be worried about his safety. The book appears to portray women in a negative fashion when it suggests that Mrs. Gribley's basic incentive for finding her son is the fear that people would think she had "not done her duty."

The novel also appears to suggest that newspaper reporters and public officials, such as the fire warden, are not to be trusted and that it might be proper to protect a...