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A review by book_concierge
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
4.0
Book on CD narrated by Janet Song
From the book 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.
My reactions
What a delightful story for middle-school readers (and adults). Inspired by Chinese folklore, Lin weaves a fantasy tale of one young woman’s quest to help her family. Minli’s courage, grace, kindness and perseverance are to be admired. Over and over again she is tested, and always finds a way to succeed. But her ultimate test is one of friendship and faith, for she has had help along the way and one friend in particular, a dragon, has asked her to pose a question to the Old Man of the Moon.
I loved the many stories told by Ba and Ma as much as I enjoyed the central story of Minli’s adventurous journey. I am reminded of the stories my grandparents, aunts and uncles told on many a night, as we sat on the front porch in the dark, my imagination running wild with tales of adventure.
Janet Song does a superb job performing the audio book. Her delivery was perfectly suited to this type of fantasy. I was mesmerized. I’m glad that I also had a copy of the text, however, because it includes some lovely illustrations.
From the book 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.
My reactions
What a delightful story for middle-school readers (and adults). Inspired by Chinese folklore, Lin weaves a fantasy tale of one young woman’s quest to help her family. Minli’s courage, grace, kindness and perseverance are to be admired. Over and over again she is tested, and always finds a way to succeed. But her ultimate test is one of friendship and faith, for she has had help along the way and one friend in particular, a dragon, has asked her to pose a question to the Old Man of the Moon.
I loved the many stories told by Ba and Ma as much as I enjoyed the central story of Minli’s adventurous journey. I am reminded of the stories my grandparents, aunts and uncles told on many a night, as we sat on the front porch in the dark, my imagination running wild with tales of adventure.
Janet Song does a superb job performing the audio book. Her delivery was perfectly suited to this type of fantasy. I was mesmerized. I’m glad that I also had a copy of the text, however, because it includes some lovely illustrations.