Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace LinI've been hearing great things about this book and its only been out a few months. It didn't take me long to fall into this story. Minli and her parents live in the poor village of Fruitless Mountain. A long time ago the villagers, offended Jade Dragon who was in charge of clouds. Jade Dragon refused let it rain there again. Years later, the land is still hard to harvest and the people are poor. Everyone is a dull brown from working the land expect for Minli. Minli's color comes from her fathers stories. Her favorites are of Fruitless Mountian Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon. The Old Man of the Moon is the holder of the book of fortune. It holds all the knowledge of the world. Minli's mother disapproves, believing these stories are a waste of time.
One day Minli buys a goldfish, from the goldfish man because he says it will bring fortune. That night Minli sets the goldfish free, they can't afford to feed it. The fish thanks Minli by telling her where to find the Old Man of the Moon.
Minli is tired of her parents working so hard and having little to show for it. She decides to set out to find the Old Man of the Moon, to ask a question. Minli is determined to change the luck of their poor village. Minli quickly befriends a dragon who can't fly. The two become travel companions.
This is a wonderful adventure. Along the way Minli meets people, who tell her more stories like her Ba. The author does a wonderful job of infusing, the connected stories told by the people into Minli's adventure. Minli is smart, resourceful and thinks things out. Where The Mountain Meets The Moon was just an over all pleasure to read. Lin's illustrations throughout add to the books beauty. This is one of those books I wish I had a fireplace to read it by. Ages 8 up
Professional Reviews via the authors blog
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