The story itself is about Minli, who lives in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, and her journey. Growing up listening her father's stories of grand ancient wonders, Minli sets off to find the Old Man of the Moon in order to "fix" Fruitless Mountain, as well as her home. The mountain and the valley she lives in have been besieged with bad luck. Along the way, she gets advice from a goldfish, befriends a flightless dragon and faces an evil tiger. There are other friends she makes and hurtles she overcomes in order to help her village. All along the way, she steadfastly adheres to her beliefs in the seemingly-fanciful stories her father has told her.
A solid piece of work, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon takes the reader on quite a roller coaster as we come along on the Minli's amazing journey. It includes some exciting events to keep a younger audience hooked, while providing some important messages along the way. Throughout the book, Minli's determination and persistence help her to persevere. Her willingness to be open-minded with those she meets along the way help her when the going gets rough.
While I would not recommend this for my kindergartners, I would highly recommend it for fourth and fifth grade students. A timeline activity of the events in the book with sticky notes would help these upper grade students to understand the book and get more out of it. I could also see us doing anchor charts that compare and contrast different character's traits, both human and non-human.
This book could easily be used for numerous different lessons. Regardless, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon should have a home in every teachers' classroom library!
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