The Secret of the Mountain

“The Secret of the Mountain,” made for kids ages 8 to 12, puts the reader in the shoes of a young hiker who sets out with a guide to climb a peak that the villagers say is home to an old secret. On every page, a decision changes the course of the story: follow the ridge trail or the stream valley, enter the crystal cave or ride the abandoned cable car, share your water bottle with a shepherd met along the way or ignore him and hurry on. No two readings are alike: the book offers more than twenty branches and several possible endings, from a mountain hut reached just before the storm to the discovery of the mountain’s secret. This is not a novel to read in one sitting but a real adventure to steer, where every choice counts and going back to try another path is part of the fun. The book already includes the complete story with all of its branches, a map of the mountain range to fill in as you read, and a very simple rules page that shows how to jump from one numbered passage to the next. A blank logbook is included to note the trails already hiked and the paths already tried. It can be read alone, aloud, or in pairs, choosing what happens next together.