Where the Mountain
Meets the Moon
Written By Grace Lin
Illustrations by Grace Lin
Published by Little, Brown Young Readers 2009
Awards: Newbery Honor Book
Summary:
Where the Mountain
Meets the Moon is a beautiful story of a girl named Minli and her journey
to bring fortune to her village. Everyone’s last hope is if Minli finds the Old
Man of the Moon and asks him the question of how to bring back good fortune.
During her journey she meets a dragon that has a question of his own and even a
set of twins. Throughout the novel you learn of the different stories and
folktales that all come together in the end. Minli is a smart, brave, and
unselfish little girl that tries her best to help others and find an answer the
ultimate question.
Friendship. Magic. Adventure. Courageous. Imaginative.
Grade Level: 3-7
Lexile Measure: 810L
Description: Fiction, Asian Culture
Suggested Delivery: Independent, Read Aloud
Key Vocabulary:
·
Magistrate- a person who lays down the law
·
Reverence- a feeling of profound respect for
someone or something
·
Tribute- something given or done as an
expression of esteem
·
Haggard- showing the wearing effects of overwork
or care or suffering
·
Emissary- someone sent on a mission to represent
another’s interest
·
Kowtow- a Chinese custom of touching the ground
with the forehead
·
Pagoda- an Asian temple
·
Malevolence- the quality of threatening evil
Electronic Resources:
Prezi is a great tool to make presentations with. It is easy
to use and more visually appealing then the typical PowerPoint. The hyperlink
above is a great example of a Prezi and a plot diagram for this novel.
This is Grace Lin’s official webpage. The section on Where
the Mountain Meets the Moon has a book trailer and an audio excerpt from Grace
herself.
Teaching Suggestions:
A discussion guide for each of the chapters, vocabulary
hunt, background builder, social studies and science connections, and much more
can be found using this link from teachingbooks.net.
Before: Students
can explore the cover and illustrated pages of the book to see the different artwork
inside. As a class, the teacher can pull up more images online of Chinese art
and culture for students to see and discuss. Something specific to look up
would be the meaning of the dragon (symbolizes good luck and control over water)
and the white rabbit (symbolizes the moon).
During: While
reading students can takes notes to create a plot diagram for the book. They
should include notes for the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax,
falling action, resolution, and theme. Here is a great template to help
students if they are struggling.
After: Some have
said this novel is the Chinese version of the Wizard of Oz. After reading, they
can compare and contrast the two stories using a graphic organizer. If students
do not know of the Wizard of Oz, then they can compare this story to another
one that it reminds them of.
Writing Activity: If
you could find the Old Man of the Moon what question would you ask him? Why? Would
you choose to ask a question to help yourself or to help others, like Minli? How
do you think that asking him your question could change things today?
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