Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Written by Grace Lin & published by Hachette Book Group, ©2009
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Grade Level: 3-6 Whole Class Read
Lexile Score: 810L Accelerated Reader: 5.5
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Minli is a young girl who lives in a village by Fruitless Mountain. She loves to listen to her father’s stories about fantastical characters, like The Old Man of the Moon, who controls fortunes. Though Minli’s parents work hard every day in the field, they still have little fortune. Minli decides to set out on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon so she can ask how to improve their fortune. Along the way, Minli meets many magical characters—some who help her and some who hinder—as she listens to stories and travels the land looking for the old man.
Key words/phrases: inspiration, fantasy, culture, folklore, heartwarming
Suggestions for the Classroom
click the image to be linked to the website
This website features The Legend of Pangu, a Chinese creation myth. Since Where the Mountain Meets the Moon heavily incorporates Asian folklore and creation myths, this story can be read beforehand to help the students understand folklore and build schema.
This video features the author and illustrator of the book, Grace Lin, discussing the inspiration behind her novel and answering questions about her book.
This video is the official book trailer for Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.
SUGGESTED COMMON CORE STATE STANDARD:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including
the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
KEY VOCABULARY
Destiny: events that will happen in a person's future
Emissary: a person who does a job in place of someone else
Fortune: a lot of money; also, chance or luck
Magistrate: a high-ranking government officer who, in Asian cultures, is often in charge of
law enforcing on a specific piece of land
Pagoda: a many-tiered tower or structure
Vendor: a person who sells something in the street, often at a fair
COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES
Before Reading: Since much of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is told through stories from the characters, introduce students to cultural folklore by reading The Legend of Pangu (linked above). Discuss the qualities of folklore and creation myths to build on students' background knowledge on the topic prior to reading the text.
During Reading: Most of the story takes place while Minli is away from home, searching for the Old Man of the Moon without her parents. Throughout the novel, have students periodically write letters from Minli's point of view to her parents, describing her feelings and adventures.
After Reading: There are a large amount of stories told in Lin's novel. Some are told in first-person and some are told in third-person. After reading, have students pick one story told in each point of view and compare and contrast them. How does the point of view change the story? What are some key similarities and differences?
WRITING ACTIVITY FOR INFERENTIAL COMPREHENSION:
Have students pick a character from the text that does not already have a story written about them. Following the form of the various stories in the book, instruct students to write their own story for their chosen character, describing how the character became who they are now.