Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

By: Grace Lin

        The Newbery Honor fantasy book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, is the story of a curious young girl named Minli, which means "quick thinking," who lives with her parents- Ma and Ba- in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain (names for its barren appearance).  Every day, the family works hard in the fields to earn a living, but Ma is never satisfied with their level of poverty.  Despite Ba's endless storytelling and Minli's cheerful outlook, Ma's unhappiness and an encounter with a talking goldfish eventually cause Minli to chase after the Old Man of the Moon, a powerful figure who can answer any question in the world with his Book of Fortune.  On her journey, Minli encounters many new friends (Dragon, a magical king, Da-a-Fu, and more!) who help her through various obstacles on her quest for answers and to bring good fortune to her family.

        Grace Lin artfully weaves elements of traditional Chinese folklore with fantasy to create this captivating novel.  The importance of storytelling remains key throughout the book, as is visible through Minli's fascination with all of Ba's fantastical stories.  Each time a story is told, it is offset from surrounding text by a decorative heading and italicized font.  In her "Behind the Story" segment at the end of the book, Lin states that many of the folktales presented within the book were inspired by Chinese myths and embellished with aspects of her own fantasies.  For example, the Old Man of the Moon is a combination of the myths of "Yue-lao- the Chinese God of Marriage" and "Shou Xing, the God of Longevity."  

           By drawing on these traditional myths, Lin connects to the Chinese culture that inspired much of the story, which, in turn, allows Lin to present Minli's adventures as a new myth.  This idea is highlighted at the end of the story when the children of the (what is now referred to as) Village of the Fruitful Mountain come "every night because they want to hear they story again- the story of Minli's journey to and from the Never-Ending Mountain!" (p. 278).  This scene mirrors earlier instances of Minli's enthusiasm for Ba's storytelling, with Minli as the new storyteller, and emphasizes the importance of stories and their interconnected nature throughout the work.

         In addition to the rich context surrounding the inspiration for many of the myths within the story, Lin's use of vivid imagery creates a setting that transports readers.  From the first line of the text, Lin demonstrates her mastery of description with the image of Fruitless Mountain as "a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal" (p. 1).  The depiction of the setting becomes even more authentic with the insertion of various examples of figurative language, such as how "the stars above files the sky like spilled salt on dried seaweed" (p. 27).  Not only does this figurative language paint a clear picture of the setting in readers' minds, but it also draws upon various aspects of Asian foods.

        The book highlights the importance of other values as well, including obedience, the value of life and presence of spirits within all things, faith, and hospitality; however, the most important is "Thankfulness" (p. 250).  Minli reads this word from the Paper of Happiness when she visits the Old Man of the Moon, and connects this word to her own life.  Thankfulness becomes the key to teaching Minli a valuable lesson on the importance of being thankful for the love that she has, from both her family and her friends.  The teamwork demonstrated throughout the novel shows the power of friendship and familial love when supporting one another, and allows the book's satisfyingly happy ending to come to light.

        One aspect of the book that is unique from many other chapter books of this length is the presence of various illustrations done by Lin.  Small illustrations accompany each chapter title to give a hint about what is to come in the text, but there are also full-page illustrations scattered throughout the book.  These full-page illustrations are filled with bright colors and ornate details that draw readers deeper into the story.  Some of the illustrations are even based on real locations from Lin's travels around China, described in the "Behind the Story" portion of her book.  For example, Lin's sketch that became the mountain village of Moon Rain is based on her own experiences in seeing the mountain village of Chaudixia.

        As a reader, I have always loved folk and fairytales, so this modern twist in incorporating fantasy into elements of traditional tales made this book a perfect read for me.  I believe that the emphasis on bringing stories to life makes this book interesting and relatable to readers of various ages, though I believe it would be best for those in 4th grade and above.  The language would lend itself nicely to an exciting read aloud, especially because of the way many of the folktales within the story draw on storytelling language patterns.  Additionally, the action-packed, short chapters make the story fly by for readers.  All of the elements of the story come together to create a beautifully engaging and heartwarming tale that I think all readers, especially those who love folk and fairytales, would enjoy!