Literature+Book+Group

Literature Book Club Members: Pat, Jamie, Thelma , Melis a

Literature Selection__: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon__ by Grace Lin

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 * Reading level:** Ages 8-12
 * Pages:** 288 pages
 * Publisher:** Little, Brown Young Readers
 * Language:** English
 * ISBN:** 0316114278, 978-0316114271

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is definitly a good read! It is truly a story of adventure, magic, friendship and lessons on life woven throughout the book in both narration as well as storytelling. For example, Chapters 1-4 remind me of Jack and the Beanstalk because Minli spends half of her savings on a goldfish, but little did she know through the stories shared by her father, the sighs of her mother and a goldfish she would begin a Quest of adventure and knowledge as well as meeting a BIG red dragon that makes a good friend. I look forward to our discussion!

How many times have we sighed because of discontentment? I'm thankful Tommy or Angela didn't take off in search of our fortune because of my sighs. It is a story that teaches us to be content.

Pat, I would have to agree with you about the way the author, Grace Lin, wove Minli's journey in with stories. I found myself not wanting to put the book down, I wanted to hear another story or find out what was going to happen at the end. I was also anxious to see how or if Ma would change her ungrateful attitude by the end Minli's journey. Did you ladies ever wonder if her journey was all a dream that she (Minli) was having? Thelma

Thelma, I agree with you in finding similarities to "Jack and the Beanstalk" in the first few chapters of the book. Minli was certainly determined to find a way to bring good fortune to her family. My children would have left home years ago due to my own sighs over nonsense things. I thought the author did a good job in conveying the change of heart that Ma had as she shared her story with Ba in chapter 44. I also liked the way Lin incorporated storytelling into the plot of the storyline, and the way she mentioned that stories were passed down through generations when the king told Minli, "Well, it is a story that has been passed through my family for generations...but there's more to it than most have heard" (Lin, 136), when he spoke of "The Unknown Part of the Story of The Old Man in the Moon". I think it is important for children to understand that stories of all types are part of an oral tradition. I'm not sure that our students all understand the roots of many stories. Most think they came from a book. Overall, I thought it was a good read, but it wasn't one that stayed glued to my hand. I think the pattern became so predictable in the beginning that it really didn't keep my interest: Minli leaves home for an adventure - Parents are sad - insert folktale/fairytale - Minli meets stranger-Parents are still sad - insert folktale/fairytale - Minli meets another stranger, etc. I did begin to enjoy the book more once she discovered that the beggar was really the king. Did anyone else have thoughts that weren't all warm and fuzzy throughout the entire book. Lisa

I really enjoyed the book despite the predictability within the story. I did love the way storytelling was woven within the story first with Ba telling Minli the magical stories. How sad it would have been if no one was passing those wonderful stories on to Minli. Then as she journeys through different places, she hears storytelling from other. I also like the way everything had significant meaning and how it all had to be joined together to work. Such as when the broken lines turned out to be both the paper and the red string that needed to go together to reach the Old Man of the Moon. Thelma, I love your idea of her journey being a dream. Her journey was full of symbolism which are often a part of our dreams. I didn't think about fairy tales so much as I was thinking about mythology. The stories in mythology always explained a particular phenomenon. I saw the evidence of this pattern throughout the book as well. Each of the stories explained a particular phenomenon in the book. The Story of the Village of the Moon Rain (p.184) explained how seeds would fall from the sky each night and how the seeds grew into beautiful trees. Then the story of Wu Kang (p237) explained what happened to a man who was never satisfied. His plight in having to keep cutting down the same tree. Little did he know that with each cut the tree grew back. This reminds me of the lessons learned by many of the figures in mythology. He was destined to continue cutting down the tree until he learned the lessons of contentment and patience or until the end of time. This story was then tied back to the story of the Village of the Moon Rain. I loved this book. Being a fan of fantasy this type of book was right up my alley. Pat

Have any of you had students read this book and make comments on it? Our school library does not own a copy of it yet, but it is on the order list. I would like to know what students think about the book. I wonder how many of the lessons/morals they catch, or even relate to their own lives. I think there are some great lessons to be learned from the stories in the book. One that really stands out to me is being content or satisfied with what we have. Just like the little boy with the buffalo and A-Fu & Da-Fu, none of them cared to change their fortune. They were content with their lives. Lisa

I too was a bit bored as I was about midway through the book, but I really enjoyed the ending. I feel that Lin tied up everything very nicely. The dragon discovered who he was (which was one of my favorite parts), the dragon's ball ended up being the pearl, Minli and her family discovered that their lives had really not been that bad after all (We could all learn from that at times!), and the gloomy Fruitless Mountain was transformed into a beautiful fruitful mountain. I agree with earlier posts that the major theme throughout the story is contentment. I enjoyed how Minli's mother changed throughout the story from a very negative character who didn't really appreciate what she had in life to someone that finally understood the gifts that she had been given. The story within a story format added much more dimension to this story and its characters and allowed us to get to know the characters on a deeper level. Perhaps, if I read this book again at a less stressful time in my life, I would enjoy it more, because it does really have a beautiful message. Jaime

Lisa, we do not have this book in our library either. I think students might need a lot of interaction and dialogue with others to understand all of the characters and how everything ties together. Jamie, I too loved the part about the dragon. I think you are also right that we could all learn the lesson of contentment at times. Also, I was thinking about Minli and her journey. Maybe her journey can represent our own journey in life and how everything happens for a reason. The stories that Ba shared with Minli created a connection for me that I thought I'd like to share. My family and I have been struggling with the illness of my mother for the past year. As time goes on, she is loosing more memories. Since the onset I have been spending more time getting her to share memories from the past. I had decided about 4 months ago to start keeping a journal and recording these wonderful stories. I am so glad that I will have these stories with me always. I hope to share these stories with my own children and grandchildren some day. Life is a precious gift that is often shorter then we can imagine. Stories are a way to hold on to a part of a life that is taken away. Pat

I love the part where Minli meets begger, gives him a coin and quickly realizes that something is different about him, she follows him into the Inner City. After Minli and the king finish their meal, he shares the Unknown Part of the Story of the Old Man and the Moon with her and gives her the 'borrowed line' that had been torn from the Book of Fortune. As I began to read Chapter 24 to find out where and what the dragon was doing, I was like, OH NO! Minli has taken the wrong 'borrowed line' from the king. I thought the lions give the dragon the right 'borrowed line'. In reality, both pieces of 'borrowed line' were valuable to the story line.

The part of the story where Minli had to make between her family's fortune and dragon's question regarding flying. This part of the story reminded about choices that I make. I am just like Minli, when I find myself up against making choices, I know what the right choice is, I just have to make it. Once Minli made the right choice, she returned home to grateful parents and could be found in the garden sharing the story of her journey with children from the village and drinking tea (Dragon Well) from a friend in a far away village.

Lin wrote a story woven with fairy tales that shows her love and appreciation for her Asian-American culture.

In using this book in class, I would use it as a small group/class book discussion, to discuss the book at an in-depth level. In small groups students would have a topic of discussion after small groups they would return to discuss as a class for a clear understanding of all elements (fairy tales, symbolism, culture, emotions..etc.) of the reading. Thelma

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I also was intrigued by the part where Wu Kang was stuck because he was never satisfied. He never learned his lesson, so he was continuously stuck doing the same thing. This reminds me of lessons that continue to resurface in life until we learn the lesson. =====

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Another part that I found interesting was the scene in chapter 23 in which Minli was trying to get the borrowed line from the king. Since the words on the paper from the book of fortune changed with each situation, it served as a type of divination process that they used for guidance. I liked the phrase, “you only lose what you cling to” and the kings reasoning for letting her take the borrowed line, “If I choose to release it, there is no loss”. This makes me curious about some of the ancient religious practices in China. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Jaime =====

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As I continue to think about the book, there are so many stories within the story that are important to make the theme of contentment and kindness connect. I did some exploring on Grace Lin's website to learn more about her thoughts behind the making of this book, and I also consulted my notes from a session I attended at the recent TLA meeting where Ms. Lin was a panel speaker on books of fantasy. She explained that the "paper of happiness", the paper held by the king in chapter 23, was actually based upon several Buddha stories and tales that have compassion and kindness as the main theme or story morals. It is clear that in this book, the character, Minli, is one that shows compassion for everyone she meets along her journey. It is so true that we only lose what we cling to. It makes me think about people who try to be controlling, yet they only have control of their own choices in life. If they continue to try and control everything around them, they eventually lose everything. Lin did not want to have a book that strongly suggested moral lessons, but one that gently wove them within the main storyline. She was asked if any parts of the story came from real life experiences and she shared that her husband passed away and she learned to be thankful for time spent together. I think this ties in with Pat's earlier posting regarding her own mother's health. It is wonderful that she recognizes the need to spend time with her and capture her stories while she can, and to be thankful for the time she can spend with her. As Thelma mentioned, I think this book would be good to use for small group studies as a starting point for additional research on folktalkes, the Asian-American culture, and symbolism. =====