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by Jeffrey Zygmont (Author), Rebekah Reif (Illustrator)
As if by magic, as she grows, Annie transforms from an unnoticed child to a valued woman who becomes the respected elder of her mountain village. She is guided throughout her journey, as if by magic, by the Great Stone Face - a unique rock formation high on a cliff that gave rise to an old village legend.
But Annie Is the Old Man of the Mountain isn't a magical tale of mystical people in far-away places. Our story occurs in modern times among ordinary people who live the same as we do. It's a story about the life-long determination of a woman to improve the lives of her neighbors. The transformation occurs not by magic, but by Annie's sturdy character.
Our Great Stone Face is the famous White Mountain landmark in New Hampshire, the Old Man of the Mountain, now fallen. Our story is inspired by the uplifting fable published in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, titled The Great Stone Face. Our version borrows the essential elements of Hawthorne's tale: the face-shaped mountain formation, the villagers awaiting a hero, the three visitors who fool them. But our hero is no airy dreamer like Hawthorne's. Annie is a hard working woman of action.
