{{Short description|Novel by James Ramsey Ullman}} {{italic title}} {{Infobox book | name = Banner in the Sky | image = File:Banner_in_the_Sky.jpg | caption = | author = James Ramsey Ullman | title_orig = | translator = | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = | language = | series = | subject = | genre = | publisher = Harper Collins | pub_date = 1988-04-15 | media_type = | pages = 252 | isbn = 9780064470483 | oclc = | lccn = | preceded_by = | followed_by = }} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} '''''Banner in the Sky''''' is a book written by James Ramsey Ullman, published by the J. B. Lippincott Company in 1954. The story is based on the first ascent of the Matterhorn and follows a young boy, Rudi Matt, who is determined to climb a mountain called the Citadel. The book earned a Newbery Honor in 1955 and was later adapted into the Disney film ''Third Man on the Mountain''.<ref name="award">{{cite web |url=https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/newbery-medals-honors-1922-present.pdf |title=Association for Library Service to Children - Newbery Medal Winners & Honor Books, 1922 – Present |website=ALA.org |access-date=December 14, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Fitzpatrick 2019" />
== Background == The book was published by the J. B. Lippincott Company in 1954.<ref name="Meyers 1954"/> The book was inspired by a real-life event in 1865 when Edward Whymper, an Englishman, became the first to climb the Matterhorn. Tragically, during Whymper's descent from the mountain, four of his companions died.<ref name="Fitzpatrick 2019">{{Cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Stephen |date=March 18, 2019 |title='Banner in the Sky': One of the Best-kept Secrets in Children's Literature |url=https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/banner-in-the-sky-one-of-the-best-kept-secrets-in-childrens-literature |access-date=October 23, 2023 |website=Crisis Magazine |publisher=Sophia Institute Press |language=en-US}}</ref> Shortly before writing the book, Ullman had taken a trip to the Swiss Alps with his son, where he climbed the mountain himself.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lent |first=Henry B. |date=September 12, 1954 |title=The Challenge; 'Banner in the Sky'. By James Ramsey Ullman |id={{ProQuest|113057091}} |newspaper=The New York Times |page=252 |language=en-US}} Also [https://www.nytimes.com/1954/09/12/archives/the-challenge-banner-in-the-sky-by-james-ramsey-ullman-252-pp.html available from] ''TimesMachine'' {{subscription required}}</ref> The book inspired a Canadian dentist to also climb the Matterhorn.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Craggs |first=Samantha |date=August 25, 2007 |title=Conquering a boyhood dream |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2171680799 |access-date=February 9, 2024 |work=The Belleville Intelligencer |publisher=Postmedia Network |page=C1 |language=en-CA |archive-date=June 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622120434/https://www.proquest.com/docview/2171680799 |id={{ProQuest|2171680799}} |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Plot == The story is set in Switzerland in the small town of Kurtal at the base of a mountain called the Citadel. Josef Matt died in an attempt to scale the mountain fifteen years ago, and no one has attempted the climb since. Sixteen-year-old Rudi Matt is determined to carry his father's red shirt to the top of the Citadel despite his family's reservations. However, Rudi convinced two of the town's best guides to join him with the help of the English Captain Winter.<ref name="Meyers 1954" /> Rudi is picked on by the other boys because he is small and does not have the complexion of a rough mountaineer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shefelman |first=Janice |date=December 29, 1984 |title=Ullman Classic Delivers: Books For Kids |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-ullman-classic/140625756/ |access-date=February 9, 2024 |work=Austin American-Statesman |publisher=Gannett |language=en-US |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Rudi is familiar with the lower slopes of the Citadel and is eager to prove that he can conquer the mountain.<ref>{{Cite news |last=F. |first=A. W. |date=January 16, 1960 |title=Books to Stimulate the Minds of Eager, Older Children |work=Canberra Times |publisher=Australian Community Media |page=11 |language=en-AU |via=Newspaper Archive}}</ref> He has been studying the lower slopes of the mountain with the help of his coworker Teo, a crippled old cook who had assisted Josef Matt on the expedition that led to his death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Arbuthnot |first=Mary Hill |author-link=May Hill Arbuthnot |date=1955 |title=Books for Children |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41384299 |journal=Elementary English |language=en-US |publisher=National Council of Teachers of English |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=61–62 |jstor=41384299 }}</ref> Rudi often sneaks out after work and practices climbing, driven by his ambition and determination.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chan |first=Emily |date=September 3, 1997 |title=Emily's back to school book is about the Alps; what will you read? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-emilys-back-to-school/140626221/ |access-date=February 9, 2024 |work=Vancouver Sun |publisher=Postmedia Network |page=D15 |language=en-CA |via=newspapers.com |issn=0832-1299}}</ref>
== Reception == Robert G. Carlsen noted in his review that while Rudi's rebellious attitude may be questionable to the adult reader, the book remains "unquestionably a fine boy's story."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carlsen |first=G. Robert |date=1954 |title=For Individual Reading |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/809397 |journal=The English Journal |language=en-US |publisher=National Council of Teachers of English |volume=43 |issue=8 |pages=476–477 |jstor=809397 }}</ref> The novel received a favorable review from Laura Scott Meyers in the ''El Paso Herald-Post;'' however, she expressed a great admiration for Ullman's previous work—''The White Tower''.<ref name="Meyers 1954">{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1954 |editor-last=Meyers |editor-first=Laura Scott |title=The Bookshelf |work=El Paso Herald-Post |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |page=4 |language=en-US |via=Newspaper Archive}}</ref> The book was the runner-up for a Newbery Award in 1955.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jenkins |first=William A. |date=1955 |title=The Educational Scene |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41384366 |journal=Elementary English |language=en-US |publisher=National Council of Teachers of English |volume=32 |issue=5 |page=335 |jstor=41384366 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodwin |first=Polly |date=March 13, 1955 |title=The Junior Bookshelf |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-the-junior-bookshelf-by/140625461/ |access-date=February 9, 2024 |work=Chicago Tribune |publisher=Tribune Publishing |page=220 |language=en-US |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}} {{authority control}} Category:1954 American novels Category:1954 English-language novels Category:American novels adapted into films Category:Children's historical novels Category:Newbery Honor–winning works Category:American young adult novels