Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lin, Grace. 2009. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316114271.

PLOT SUMMARY

“Tell me again, Ba. Please.” Young Minli is the bright spot in her dull, brown village at the foot of a lifeless mountain - Fruitless Mountain. What keeps Minli from fading into the muddy, lifeless background are the stories of her Ba. Ma scoffs at Ba’s stories and Minli’s penchant for them, allowing her dissatisfaction with her poor life to keep her from finding joy in the stories or her family. Upon hearing the story of the Old Man of the Moon, Minli sets out on an adventure to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. Along the way, she rescues and befriends a flightless dragon, meets a street urchin and a king, the fierce Green Tiger, and the ever-happy twins, Da-A-Fu. Throughout Minli’s story, Grace Lin has woven Chinese folktales that add depth and beauty to the narrative. As Minli moves forward on her quest, the folktales move forward, weaving seamlessly in and out of Minli’s story, creating their own tale. As the story moves to its climax, the folktales and Minli’s world meld into one story, and Minli discovers that the folktales are her history. As each folktale unfolds, and each new person is met, Minli discovers that fortunes change when one discovers happiness in oneself and in contentment with what one already has.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Grace Lin has crafted a beautiful story that is both a fantasy and a collection of folktales. The two genres work together to create a moving story of a young girl who sets out to change her family’s fortune. With each folktale that is shared with Minli, she discovers new things about herself, her life, and what “fortune” really means. At the same time Minli is discovering what true happiness is, her mother, distraught over the loss of her daughter, also discovers, through stories and much inner reflection, that the better life she dreamed of was itself a fairy tale, that she had all she needed in the love of her husband and the bright, loving eyes of her daughter. It is only after these journeys of self-discovery are complete that not only the family’s fortune changes, but the fortune of the entire village.

The characters Lin has created share their messages of hope and happiness without preaching or becoming overbearing. The lessons are learned through the folktales laced throughout the story, and through the way the various characters live their lives.

In Minli’s quest to meet the Old Man of the Moon, she travels from her dull, brown village, through a forest, across a river (where she rescues and befriends a dragon), through a peach grove, into a walled city, across a barren landscape to an oasis of silver trees with golden flowers. Each new place brings her a step closer to Never-Ending Mountain. At the end of her journey, she comes full circle, returning to her home to find what it was she was looking for.

Lin weaves together a multitude of themes and morals so effortlessly, that it is only after the book is finished that one realizes that she has included the ideas of good triumphing over evil, that happiness is a choice, love transcends everything, that when we let go of what we hold most dear we can not lose it, and that often what we most desire is right in front of us, and there truly is no place like home.

The one negative to this text is the seemingly poor editing. There were several places where the flow of the prose was broken by sentences that did not make sense. It appears that in those places the author made a word change, but failed to delete the word being changed. It is a shame that in such a beautiful story that such a thing could happen.

PERSONAL RESPONSE

From the beautiful Chinese artwork of the cover, to the small artistic details at the begining of each chapter and throughout the book, Lin has created a marvelous story. There are so many lessons to be learned here, and Lin teaches them without an “in your face” attitude. Without being stereotypical, I think we can all recognize ourselves in the overly-critical Ma, the gentle, but sad Ba, and the impetuous Minli, who leaves on a quest to discover something that is right in front of her, but that if she had not set off on her journey, she would never have discovered. This is a book that will make a wonderful read-aloud to younger children. Children of all ages will enjoy the many stories within the story.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

Beehive Award, 2011, Winner Fiction Utah

Cybil Award, 2009, Finalist Middle Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction United States

E.B. White Read Aloud Award 2010 Honor Book Older Reader United States
John Newbery Medal, 2010 Honor Book Middle Reader United States

Josette Frank Award, 2010 Winner United States

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature, 2010 Winner Children’s Literature United States

Parents’ Choice Award, 2009 Gold Fiction United States

Booklist Starred Review: “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.”

Children’s Literature: “Drawing inspiration from not only Chinese folktales but also American fairy tales like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Grace Lin has crafted a highly accessible and compulsively readable folktale, further enhanced by her beautiful full-color illustrations. Readers who enjoy this tale will be delighted to find that Lin provides a list of books about Chinese folktales that inspired her own story at the end of her Author’s Note, helping them expand their knowledge of stories from other cultures.”

CONNECTIONS

• Use the event kit available at http://www.gracelin.com/media/press/Minlis_Journey.pdf to host an event to introduce readers to this beautiful story.
• Allow students to create their own Reader’s Theater to reinforce the concepts of the book.
• Have students choose a favorite folktale from the book, practice it, and have a storytelling festival for a younger group/class of children.
• Read other Grace Lin books, including the following:

o   The Year of the Dog. ISBN 0316060003

o   The Year of the Rat. ISBN 9780316033619