Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Book Review

 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, G. (2009). WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. Little, Brown and Company.  ISBN: 978-0-316-03863-8

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a novel about Minli and her parents Ma and Ba, who live in China long ago. Ba loves to tell tales about dragons and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli decides that the Fruitless Mountain that they live by can be changed if she is able to ask for help from the Old Man of the Moon. Throughout her adventure, she meets magical creatures that come to life from Ba’s stories. 


 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The characters in Where the Mountain Meets the Moon are authentic and representative of the Asian Pacific culture in several ways. Minli and her family live in the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain in China. They are poor and work from sun up to sun down. Ba tells stories of the Old Man in the Moon, dragons, and the Goldfish Man. The talking creatures are from Chinese folk tales and are commonly used in such stories. 

The setting in this story is a small village in ancient China. The day-to-day life of the village farming and in the home are common to Chinese communities of that time. When Minli begins her journey to the Old Man of the Moon, mountains, forests, cities, and villages are inclusive of China at that time. 

The illustrations Lin adds in the book are in the painting style of Chinese art. Lin’s illustrations also show the characters in traditional clothing of the time period, including dresses, robes, and shoes. Red is a common color in Chinese culture, and a lot of the matting has it incorporated. There are also dragons and fish drawn in the Asian Pacific style. 

Storytelling and symbolism are big traditions of Asian Pacifics, and Ba tells well-known folktales to Minli and others. There are many stories of dragons, the Old Man of the Moon, and the goldfish man retold in Chinese tradition.  Chinese words and phrases are interwoven into the text. For example, Ma and Ba are the mother and father, and Minli is a traditional Chinese name. The Jade Dragon is not necessarily a native Chinese word, but jade is revered as a powerful symbol in the culture. The moon is a main symbol in chinese culture as are dragons and the red thread of fate. The red thread of fate 

Family is central in this culture. Minli’s parents are protective of her and send her in from the farming fields much earlier so she can wash the mud off of her. She talks about being an obedient daughter. She seeks to turn the Fruitless Mountain back into a lush, green, and thriving one. Through honoring her parents and the creatures she encounters, there is a mutual respect between them. 



4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • ALA Notable Children's Books, 2010

  • Book Links, 01/01/10

  • Booklist, 05/15/10 *

  • Booklist starred, 05/01/09

  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 09/01/09

  • Horn Book Magazine, 09/01/09

  • Kirkus Reviews starred, 05/01/09

  • Library Media Connection starred, 11/01/09

  • Multicultural Review, 09/01/09

  • Newbery Honor, 2010

  • Parents' Choice Gold Award, 2009

  • School Library Journal starred, 07/01/09

  • School Library Journal starred, 07/01/10 *

  • Wilson's Children, 10/01/10

  • Wilson's Junior High School, 01/09/10

Full-Text Reviews
Booklist starred (May 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 17))

Grades 3-6. In this enchanted and enchanting adventure, Minli, whose name means “quick thinking,” lives with her desperately poor parents at the confluence of Fruitless Mountain and the Jade River. While her mother worries and complains about their lot, her father brightens their evenings with storytelling. One day, after a goldfish salesman promises that his wares will bring good luck, Minli spends one of her only two coins in an effort to help her family. After her mother ridicules what she believes to be a foolish purchase, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon, who, it is told, may impart the true secret to good fortune. Along the way, she finds excitement, danger, humor, magic, and wisdom, and she befriends a flightless dragon, a talking fish, and other companions and helpmates in her quest. With beautiful language, Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude. Lin’s own full-color drawings open each chapter.



  • 5. CONNECTIONS

Related Books:


Lin, G. (2014). STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY. Thorndike Press.  ISBN: 978-1-43287-545-9

Lin, G. (2017). WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER. Little, Brown, and Company.  ISBN:  978-0-316-12594-9


Activities:


Author study on Grace Lin

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