Written and Illustrated by Grace Lin

Reviewed by Julia Marlin

Minli and her parents live in a village in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain where everything is dry and faded brown. All day, Minli and her parents work in the fields, trying to “coax rice out of the stubborn land.” Minli’s only escape from the hard work and the always nearly-empty pantry shelves of their small house is through her father’s stories. He tells her fables of dragons, tales of tigers, and the lore of The Old Man of the Moon who knows the answer to everything. Minli’s mother thinks the stories just fill Minli’s head with nonsense and fantasies, and one day, her worst fear comes true; Minli decides to set out to find the Old Man of the Moon herself, in the hopes that she can find out how to change her family’s fortune. 

Though Minli grew up hearing her father’s stories, through her journey she becomes the protagonist in her own Chinese folktale. In this adventure reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz, our heroine displays bravery and perseverance, she finds friendship, and maybe even answers. 

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is the first in a trilogy, followed by Starry River of the Sky, and When the Sea Turned to Silver. These books make fantastic classroom read-alouds for grades 2-5. The stories are full of foreshadowing and connections– both within each book and across the whole trilogy (though Where the Mountain Meets the Moon can certainly stand alone)– which keep students rapt and excitedly guessing. 

Each chapter heading is stamped with a different wood block print, and every few chapters there is a stunning and colorful full page illustration. 

Most chapters are only a few pages long, allowing the reader to squeeze in just one more chapter, or else leave the class wanting more with a juicy cliff hanger.

The writing is also extremely beautiful; scarcely a page goes by without at least one vivid metaphor or simile, making this book the perfect mentor text to teach figurative language:

“The beady eyes of all the monkeys glittered through the branches like hundreds of diamonds.”

“A sudden wind blew— like the mountain itself was yawning.”

“An enormous wall, like a giant patchwork curtain of stone, surrounded the thousands of houses of the city.”

Author Grace Lin is a Chinese American writer and illustrator who has won many awards for her children’s books and novels, including the Newbury Honor in 2010 for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Part of Lin’s mission as a writer is to diversify representation in children’s books. In her Ted Talk “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” Lin talks about the lack of Chinese female protagonists available to her when she was growing up. Lin has been recognized as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling.

Lin’s books should be at the top of the list for any elementary teacher who is interested in broadening their windows and mirrors for their students.