Today’s post is on Where
the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. It is 279 pages long including
beautiful full page illustrations and is published by Little, Brown, and
Company. The cover is a beautiful picture of a young girl riding a flying
dragon across the cover in bright and vivid colors. The intended reader is are
children about the age of seven and up but it is so well written that anyone
who likes fantasy Chinese stories will enjoy this book. The story is told from
third person close changing characters from one to another over the course of
the story. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this book. There Be
Spoilers Ahead.
From the dust jacket- In the Valley of Fruitless Mountain,
a young girl named Minli spends her days working hard in the fields and her
nights listening to her father spin fantastic tales about the Jade Dragon and
the Old Man of the Moon. Minli’s mother, tired of their poor life, chides him
for filling her head with nonsense. But Minli believes these enchanting stories
and embarks on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man of the Moon and ask
him how her family can change their fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of
characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who
accompanies her on her quest.
Review- I really loved this story. I love myths and
legends from all cultures. Grace Lin is a wonderful storyteller and this book
won the Newbery Honor the year it was published. This is a wonderful story is
you are interested in Chinese storytelling or if you want to introduce your
children to this vivid culture. The main story is about Minli wanting to meet
the Old Man of the Moon and discover how she can make her family’s life easier.
But threaded throughout the story are dozens of other stories that gives beautiful
background information about the main plot. It is not just about Minli changing
her family’s fortune but about learning to be happy with what blessings you
have. There is theme of family being the most important thing in the world from
the beginning story about the Jade Dragon looking for her lost children to
Minli’s parents looking for her. This book is easy to read aloud so bedtime
story would be great with this.
I give this book Five stars out of Five. I get nothing for
my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
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