Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

In the book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, the main character, a girl named Minli, decides to try to change the fortune of her very materially poor family. Minli, who is "not brown and dull like the rest of the village (2)," embarks upon a quest that takes her to many places. Along the way, she meets many new characters - some human, some not - and she becomes friends with most of them. Minli's quick mind, generosity, caring, and selflessness eventually take her all the way to the one she seeks: the Old Man of the Moon. With this book, Grace Lin has created an entire magical world as well as an enchanting piece of literature, one that definitely deserves to win the Massachusetts Children's Book Award. There are many reasons why this book is so award-worthy.Mountain Meets the Moon is beautifully crafted and written. The language is filled with original similes based on Chinese culture, and the imagery that Ms. Lin creates is vivid and powerful. Long after putting the book down, readers will still remember the story. The book is constructed beautifully as well. What starts off as one story splits into at least two separate narratives that are carefully woven together and then seamlessly rejoined by the end of the book. Additionally, traditional Chinese tales and Chinese-inspired tales written by the author, form part of the narrative. Each one of these stories serves to further the main narrative, either by highlighting part of the main story, by filling in gaps, or by emphasizing the book's themes. It is obvious that this writer paid the utmost attention to detail as she was writing this book. Everything has a meaning, and just as the Old Man of the Moon is tying together various characters in the book, so too does the author tie together every little detail. The characters who inhabit this book are another reason that it should win an award. As the book plays out, we can see most of them grow and change, some more obviously than others. Perhaps the character of Ma undergoes the most dramatic change, from a bitter, complaining, ungrateful kvetch into a loving, generous, and appreciative parent, but Minli also changes. She is a quick thinker at first, almost impulsive, and always moving and thinking. By the end of the book, she is content to sit and admire the moon.But the biggest reason that Where the Mountain Meets the Moon should win the Massachusetts Children's Book Award is because of its themes. We should all appreciate the important things we have in our lives - family, love, a home, enough. These are the things that make one truly wealthy -- not gold or jade. Minli's family has one another, and that is all that really matters. And when someone tries their very best to do something, that is important, too. Minli never gives up on her quest to find the Old Man of the Moon, no matter what the obstacles. Generosity is very important. Many good things come to Minli along the way because she is always helping others and not thinking first of herself. Finally, doing the right and selfless thing is often a reward in and of itself. Minli asks the Dragon's question instead of her own, because she finally realizes she doesn't need anything for herself. In the end, she is materially rewarded, but it is again because her family would not accept money for the Dragon's pearl.Many books are fun to read, and many books are well written, but it is rare that a book has everything going for it. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, however, is such a book. It is both fun to read and incredibly well written, and its subject and themes teach us valuable and important lessons that we should take to heart. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is one of the best books I've ever read. Not only is it award-worthy; reading it is like giving yourself a reward for being a reader.

I almost didn't buy this book after reading a review titled "colorist trash"- as a brown person buying this to read to my brown child I thought forget it, there are better ways to spend my money. I ended up getting the second book of the trilogy (Starry River of the Sky) not realizing what I had done, that it was the same author or part of a set, and loved the book. When I came looking for the other two books in the trilogy, I remembered the "colorist" critique but decided to buy the book anyway since the first one was so well written, interesting, compassionate and empathic that I figured I needed to read the book to decide for myself what it was or was not.So here's the thing, I've read the book and loved it as much as the first one, my 7 y.o. has loved it as well, but the part of not being "dull and brown" is there and its meaning seems clear cut. There is also another passage in the book where another little girl is being described as beautiful and very white and it almost seems as if she's beautiful because she is so white. This may seem like a minor detail to some, but it’s not when you're a brown person reading this to a brown child. Since it was me reading aloud, I skipped the noxious parts and problem solved. I don't know why this "dull and brown" and "beautiful and white" parts needed to be included. I want to believe the author is neither racist nor colorist and my guess is that she was trying to say something else, like the girl has not accepted the fate of being buried in mud like the rest of the villagers have, or, the beautiful girl resembles the moon in its beauty, since the moon is such a big part of the story, but if that is what she meant it could have been said differently. Maybe the words reflect the "leaking" of some of the colorist/racist attitudes and beliefs that exist among people of color, as a brown person I can attest to that and it is heartbreaking and inexplicable. Some of these beliefs are so deeply and unconsciously held that I can see someone writing these words without stopping to think about their meaning. I don't take colorist remarks lightly, especially when the message is directed at children, as it is here. That said, I still would not pass on this book based on those remarks because they make up .0001% of the book and the rest is so worth it. The heroine is a brave, curious, imaginative, quick witted girl (a big plus if your l.o. is a girl too), it intertwines magic and reality in a seamless, beautiful way, and exposes readers to a different culture. In the midst of #StopAsianHate books like these are even more relevant and necessary because "Asian" may mean nothing to a child who is not, but for my child Rendi is a personal hero, as is Minli and that, I hope, will eventually make a dent on racism, colorism and intolerance. That's my two cents. Skip over the two phrases if you're a parent doing the reading, and if you have an older child, the phrases may be good conversation starters about colorist beliefs and attitudes, how they creep on you where and when you least expect it, their null validity and the amazing damage they cause if unchecked. As an FYI I found a small article online where author Grace Lin addresses this issue titled "No one gets a pass when writing multicultural books."

Beautiful stories. I really enjoyed this book. Great author. Tells a good story. Should be recommended for any age person.

My 10 year old son read the first book at school in his APEX class and absolutely loved it! He couldn’t stop talking about this story! It is the book that really ignited his obsession with reading. I ordered the whole set for him to read this summer and he can’t put them down!

I really enjoy Grace Lin as a writer, her picture books are phenomenal!Which is why I was elated to discover her middle grade novels. My daughter is getting older so we are both looking for new books to enjoy and discuss together.This one started a little slow for me but I am so glad that I stuck with it. The breaks within the initial plot for the mini tales were quite enjoyable and I was left reading as fast as possible to see how it would all tie together!Minli longs to change her family's fortune, the exhausting days in the fields have left her and her parents weary. She decides to leave home to find the Old Man on the Moon to hopefully change their fate. Her journey turns into a grand adventure where Minli meets many new friends along the way.This is a great read!

My 8 year old and I read this together. It is such a great book. It has a bunch of mini stories throughout the book that all blend with the main story line. It has great lessons and is a great window into a culture that is different then ours. I highly recommend this book.

Grace é sino-americana e seus livros geralmente são repletos de tradições chinesas. Esse não foi diferente.Minli vive uma família e vila muito pobre. Inconformada com a sua "fortuna" parte um jornada fantástica para obter resposta sobre como ter uma vida melhor.Como pode-se notar pela capa um dragão a acompanhará.Cada capítulo traz um mini-estória dentro, que é narrada por um dos personagens.Uma estória que encanta e nos toca.Esse é o primeiro livro da trilogia, mas pode ser lido a parte sem problemas.A leitura foi fácil, pois a autora uma um vocabulário bem simples.Eu li em português (fazia a tradução durante a leitura) para meu filho de 6 anos. Gostou bastante.Fiquei surpreso pela qualidade do livro. A capa é comum, sem orelhas, mas ela e as imagens no interior são de uma qualidade surpreendente. O papel das folhas é super bom. Paguei 34,00, mas agora que conheço o material acho que vale uns 40,00.Boa leitura!

Thank you Grace Lin for these neat and sweet novels for our little ones. Great storytelling. My children aged 7 & 9 are amazed to discover for themselves, the interweaving plots so delicately put together. These three novels are gems that are worthy of having them in hardcovers. The Little Brown hardcover1st ed are just wonderful, we love the typeface, the illustrations and the craftsmanship. It shows that these books are the results of great love. We ordered extra copies to donate to our local library. Humanity can benefit when children read widely across different cultures. Hopefully, these novels will be available in multiple languages.

Llegó en perfectas condiciones, solo un poco rayado de la parte de atrás pero no se nota mucho. Como venía sin un plástico alrededor no es de extrañar. El libro no lo he leído pero contiene unas imágenes muy preciosas y al final contiene una guía para el lector y un detrás de la historia.

This... this is one of the most beautiful middle grade books I have ever read.Minli lives in the Valley of the Fruitless Mountain with her very poor parents. Her father tells her stories about the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon, filling her head with ideas of how they could possibly change their family fortune. One day, Minli discovers the way to the Old Man of the Moon and decides to leave her parents to see if she can find him. On the way, she meets a dragon that can't fly, kings, tigers, and so much more.Oh where do I begin with what I loved about this book? This is imbued with gorgeously-told Chinese folktales that are both original and inspired by actual Chinese folktales the author, Grace Lin, has heard over the years. They're so wonderfully integrated in the story and provides a sort of path for Minli, our protagonist.The characters in this are so full of wonder. Minli is a fantastic character to follow because she's curious and learns so much on her adventure to the Old Man in the Moon. The dragon that can't fly who accompanies her, called Dragon, adds another fantastical element to this story as we meet monkeys and kings and buffalo boys and lucky twins and green tigers, oh my!I was floored by the emotion and passion behind these stories and characters and all the messages and morals that are learned are so beautiful, when I reached the end, I wanted to begin again on page one so I could learn all those lessons all over again. It took 11 years to discover this book but I'm so glad my red thread finally led me to this wonderful, wonderful book!