Every envelope · one printed chapter + one character card
Flee to the Mountain
Can an entire village move inside a mountain? Can they do it in time?
No screens. No apps. A story by mail for kids — a year-long novel that arrives one chapter at a time.
Back to School Sale - Limited Time
Full 26-chapter subscription · Character cards included · Shipping included
Start your subscription →Prefer to pay monthly? $10.99 a month →
- 26 printed chapters
- A character card with each one
- Ages 8–14
- Decide by chapter two
Two friends. A relentless enemy.
A secret mountain refuge.
The game is gone from the woods. The livestock are found stripped to the bone. And riders keep bringing word from the north that something is moving south — tall, silent, hunting in packs. The people of Spring River have one decision left to make, and not much time to make it.
The story
A glimpse inside a printed chapter
Spring River is a peaceful mountain village where families farm, children play, and neighbors look out for one another. Thirteen-year-old Tucker Crandall and his friend Arch Hicks spend their days exploring the hills and planning their next adventure.
But the peace does not last. Game animals vanish. Livestock are found stripped to the bone. Riders bring grim news from other towns. Creatures no one has seen in generations are moving south—tall, silent hunters with glowing eyes and deadly darts.
When the threat reaches their valley, the people of Spring River must decide: stay and risk everything, or flee into the unknown. Tucker and Arch remember a secret mountain that might offer safety.
What follows tests their courage, their friendships, and their faith. Can a small community hold on to hope—and their trust in God—when the wilderness itself becomes the enemy?
How it arrives
A year-long novel by mail for ages 8–14.
Subscribe once
One order covers the whole story — all 26 chapters delivered bi-weekly, start to finish. Nothing else to remember, nothing to reorder.
Watch the mailbox
Every two weeks a kraft envelope arrives addressed to your child by name. Inside: one chapter booklet with full-color illustrations, plus a collectible character card.
Read it together
Each chapter is short enough for a school night, includes a recap of the last one, and closes on a hook. A year of shared reading, one envelope at a time.
What families are saying
★★★★★The children look forward to the incoming chapters. The chapter length is manageable to fit in with a busy family schedule and the story is engaging. The artwork is helpful to enhance the reading experience!
★★★★★I think most kids don’t get to enjoy receiving regular mail… plus it builds the anticipation like waiting for the next episode of a tv show you enjoy watching and want to see what will happen next.
★★★★★It is a unique approach to reading that lends itself to family time and creative story telling.
★★★★★Both my 11 and 9 year old are following along well. They have no questions regarding the storyline except for what happens next.
★★★★★Lucas and I have been reading through the chapters together and are both interested in seeing where the story will go next at the end of each chapter.
★★★★★Our family really looks forward to the next chapter arriving, and being able to read it together.
★★★★★It’s an awesome story read week by week. A fun way to get the family together.
★★★★★We wait every week for the chapters and get excited on Mailbox Story day. We walk to the mailbox and immediately start reading.
★★★★★An excellent addition to a young reader’s library, and added excitement of getting old-fashioned snail mail!
★★★★★Having to wait for the next chapter brings a level of anticipation that makes reading more exciting for my son over a traditional book.
★★★★★They get really excited to get it in the mail and see the card too!
Who it’s for
- Readers ages 8–14 — and the whole family, read aloud
- Kids who’d rather be outside than on a screen
- Reluctant readers who find a full novel daunting
- Homeschool families looking for a break from screens
- Parents who want real danger in a story, handled gently
- Grandparents looking for a gift that keeps showing up
Survival, friendship, and quiet courage
A mid-grade survival adventure with a folksy feel.
Hatchet, My Side of the Mountain, The Sign of the Beaver, and the Little House books — the survival, the self-reliance, the tight community under pressure.
Flee to the Mountain sits right there: real peril, real loss, real courage. No profanity, no romance, nothing you’d have to read ahead to screen.
A story in your mailbox, one chapter at a time.
Read a little of Chapter One
Chapter One
A spell of exploration
Spring River
Two of those intent on investigating the mystery were thirteen-year-old Tucker Crandall and his best friend Arch — Archer Hicks. They spent the spring trying to figure out the threat which had so many villagers on edge. Their life in the mountains was one of carefree adventures, exploring the joys of the outdoors, but something was coming, and was upsetting the rhythm of their peaceful life. Just what it was, the boys had no idea.
All this changed one afternoon when Tucker and Arch went out for a ‘spell of exploration’, their name for the trips they took into the fields and forest. They were also keeping a lookout for six cows belonging to the Meyer family. It seemed one of their fences had broken, and some of their cows had wandered off.
After long hours of hiking their favorite trails, Tucker and Arch took out their sack of food, and sat down to eat lunch.
“So, where do you think those cows wandered off to?” Arch asked as he ripped off a hunk of bread and passed the loaf over to Tucker.
“If they didn’t come up here, then they must be in the river, or over in the creek. That’s my guess.” Tucker laid back and looked up into the clouds. This was his kind of day. The sun was shining, the temperature was warming up, and since it was Saturday there was no school to mess things up. They were free to spend the whole day exploring.
As they ate and rested from their exploring, they started to catch a whiff of the foulest smell they had ever encountered. Sniffing the air, the boys rose, and went in search of whatever was rotting and stinking up the ridge.
“I bet it’s a possum,” Tucker said. “We had a dead one behind the chicken coop last year, fox must have killed it. It was all swollen up, it was the most disgusting thing ever.”
But this stench wasn’t a possum, or a bunch of possums. It was the Meyer’s cows, or what was left of them.
Two ways to begin
Both deliver the same 26-chapter story, one chapter every other week. The only difference is how you pay.
Yearly, prepaid
For families who know they want the full journey.
$99 for the year
$129.99 · about $3.80 a chapter
- All 26 printed chapters
- A character card with every chapter
- Saves about $33 against paying monthly
- Decide by the time chapter two ships
Monthly
Most families begin here.
$10.99 a month
Change or cancel anytime
- All 26 printed chapters
- A character card with every chapter
- Switch to yearly within three months
- Decide by the time chapter two ships
Questions
How often do chapters arrive?
Every two weeks, for a full year — 26 chapters in all. Each one is printed, illustrated, and addressed to your child.
What exactly arrives in the mail?
A kraft envelope addressed to your child, stamped with the chapter number. Inside is a slim, stapled chapter booklet — not a bound paperback — with its own cover illustration, plus a collectible character card introducing someone from the story. A new card comes with every chapter, so the set builds over the year.
How long is each chapter?
Short enough to read in one sitting on a school night. Parents tell us the length is the best part — it fits a busy family schedule instead of fighting it.
What if we miss one, or start late?
Every chapter opens with a short recap of what happened last time, so no one is ever lost. For anything that goes astray in the mail, see our service and delivery policies.
What if it isn’t a fit for my family?
You have until the second chapter ships to decide. Start the story, see how it lands in your house, and go from there. Monthly subscribers can change or cancel anytime.
Can I switch from monthly to yearly later?
Yes — within the first three months. Email us and we’ll apply what you’ve already paid toward the yearly price, so you can begin without pressure and commit once you’re confident.
Is it scary?
There’s real danger — creatures, a siege, characters who are hurt and lost. It’s handled the way good middle-grade adventure handles it: the stakes are honest, the violence is never graphic, and courage and community win out. Most comfortable for ages 8 and up.
What’s the faith element?
The people of Spring River pray together and lean on their trust in God through hard seasons. It’s woven into who they are rather than stopping the story to preach. Families of any background can read and enjoy it.
Can I give it as a gift?
Yes — gift options are available, and it’s one of the most popular ways people order. Chapters arrive addressed to the child, so the gift keeps showing up for a full year.
Survive the winter.
Hold the mountain.
The secrets of the Mountain unfold over 26 bi-weekly chapters — one year your family spends inside the same story together.
Start your subscription — $99Shipping included · Decide by chapter two · Ages 8–14