Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a fantasy-adventure novel written by Grace Lin. It was a recipient of a 2010 Newbery Honor.
Summary For Where The Mountain Meets The Moon
In the exposition of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, the main character, Minli, is introduced. She is a little girl from China who is very eager for adventure, so she wants her family's fortune to change. Her parents, Ma and Ba, are also introduced; Ma is very "bitter and resentful", and wants to protect Minli from all of Ba's silly stories. Ba is more happy, and has a very good relationship with Minli. He tells her stories, which make her very happy.The setting is also revealed. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon takes place in the Village of the Fruitless Mountain. It is called the Village of the Fruitless Mountain because there is a huge mountain surrounding the village where nothing grows and no animals live. The village is very poor, there is hardly anything to eat, only rice. There is mud everywhere. The Jade River also surrounds the big Village.
As the novel progresses, Minli goes on an adventure. Settings include the City of the Bright Moonlight, the Village of Moon Rain, and the Never Ending Mountain. The underlying conflict is that Minli's family and village is poor, which causes many problems throughout the book. One problem that it causes is that Minli runs aways to find the Old Man of the Moon, who could change their fortune. Another problem that it causes is that there is a strain in Minli's relationship with Ma. The first part of a rising action is that Minli runs away from her home to find the Old Man of the Moon, when she meets Dragon and they go on the journey together. Minli also meets a very important character on her journey; his name is Buffalo Boy, and he helps Minli realize that her home life isn't so bad, she should appreciate more, because she has a real home and parents who love her, and he does not, but he shows her how lucky she is. Next, Minli goes to the City of Bright Moonlight and meets the King. He gives her the borrowed line, which is essential to her journey, but it turns out that a stone lion had another borrowed line too, and he gave it to Dragon. Then, the climax was when Minli and Dragon were in a cave, and the evil Green Tiger came. He tried to kill Minli, but Dragon protected her, scaring the Green Tiger away, but in the process getting wounded. His cut soon became infected by the poison of the Green Tiger and Minli set off to find help. She then met Da-Fu and A-Fu, two twin children who tricked and killed the Green Tiger. Their grandfather comes and helps Dragon, and Da-Fu and A-Fu take Minli to their village, which is the Village of the Moon Rain. Everyone in the village shows great hospitality, and Dragon, who now healthy, was soon reunited with Minli. Da-Fu and A-Fu take Minli to the Never Ending Mountain, to meet the Old Man of the Moon. Instead of asking the Old Man of the Moon to fix her family's fortune, she asks him why Dragon cannot fly. The Old Man of the Moon tells Minli to take the stone ball off Dragon's head, and Minli and Dragon fly back to the Village of the Fruitless Mountain. It turns out that the stone ball on Dragon's head is a dragon's pearl, which is worth an entire fortune of a king. Also, Dragon is one of Jade Dragon's children. The resolution is when Minli is reunited with her parents and the Fruitless Mountain is no longer fruitless and the Jade River is clear and fresh. The village they live in is now happy and bright. beautiful flowers and fruit started to grow on now what is fruitful mountain in the village of now the village of fruitful mountain.
Critical Reception
Jennifer Rothschild from School Library Journal stated in her review: "The author's writing is elegant, and her full-color illustrations are stunning."
Andrew Medlar from Booklist said: "Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine & mystical land [...] children will embrace this [...] story..."
Sequel
On August 20, 2015, Lin announced the sequel to the novel, titled "When the Sea Turns to Silver". The new book is due to be published on October 4, 2016. [1] [2]
Film
In August 2015, Lin revealed that the film rights for the book had been bought. However, she is still unsure if the film will be made or not. She says that if the film is made, it will be released sometime between 2020 and 2025.
Theatrical Performance
A stage adaptation based on Lin's book was performed at Wheelock Family Theater in Boston, in April of 2014. The performance starred Caroline Workman as Minli, Michael Tow as Storyteller/ Minli's Ba, and was directed by Jane Staab. [3]
References
According to Journal of Education Grace Lin is the "best-selling author of The Year of the Dog and The Year of the Rat". [4]
- ↑ http://www.gracelinblog.com/2016/03/revealing-cover.html
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/When-Sea-Turned-Silver-Grace/dp/031612592X/
- ↑ http://www.wheelock.edu/mountain-meets-moon
- ↑ , Greenfield Renee, and Jennifer Rabold. "Where The Mountain Meets The Moon." Journal Of Education 191.1 (2011): 77. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.
Greenfield