Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Author: Grace Lin
Newberry Honor Book
First Line: "Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal."
Last Line: "For even in the misty light, the goldfish man could see her smiling a secret smile up to the sky to where the mountain meets the moon."
Back Cover: "Young Minli lives in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, where she and her parents spend their days working hard in the fields. At night, Minli listens to her father's tales about the Old Man of the Moon, who knows the answers to everything. Minli sets out on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon - he will know she can bring good fortune to her family. Along the way, she meets many magical friends, including a talking fish, a powerful king, and a dragon who can't fly!"
This is one of my favorite read aloud books just because it is a great story. Also, because it is an excellent mentor text for teachers to use grades 3-8 to teach "advanced" similes. There are 91 similes (if I caught them all ) in this book and they go way beyond "It was as slick as glass." and "The box is as blue as the sky."
Some of my favorite similes:
"His gentle calling drew Minli to him like a moth to a lit lantern."
"Minli stared down at her rice bowl: the few white grains left sat like precious pearls at the bottom of her bowl."
"The village was quietly asleep and the stars above filled the sky like spilled salt on dried seaweed."
"Through the rising steam, he could see the beady eyes of all the monkeys glittering through the branches like hundreds of diamonds as they watched as well."
"Her hair floated around her like a midnight halo and her white face looked like a star in the sky."
"The tiger glared like a spoiled child."
"As the sky deepened like brewing tea, Minli and the dragon looked in silence at the red line reaching to the heavens."
"Minli felt like a fish gasping for air."
"She was at last able to see that her daughter's laughter and love could not be improved by having the finest clothes or jewels, that joy had been in her home like a gift waiting to be opened."
Author: Grace Lin
Newberry Honor Book
First Line: "Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal."
Last Line: "For even in the misty light, the goldfish man could see her smiling a secret smile up to the sky to where the mountain meets the moon."
Back Cover: "Young Minli lives in the Valley of Fruitless Mountain, where she and her parents spend their days working hard in the fields. At night, Minli listens to her father's tales about the Old Man of the Moon, who knows the answers to everything. Minli sets out on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon - he will know she can bring good fortune to her family. Along the way, she meets many magical friends, including a talking fish, a powerful king, and a dragon who can't fly!"
This is one of my favorite read aloud books just because it is a great story. Also, because it is an excellent mentor text for teachers to use grades 3-8 to teach "advanced" similes. There are 91 similes (if I caught them all ) in this book and they go way beyond "It was as slick as glass." and "The box is as blue as the sky."
Some of my favorite similes:
"His gentle calling drew Minli to him like a moth to a lit lantern."
"Minli stared down at her rice bowl: the few white grains left sat like precious pearls at the bottom of her bowl."
"The village was quietly asleep and the stars above filled the sky like spilled salt on dried seaweed."
"Through the rising steam, he could see the beady eyes of all the monkeys glittering through the branches like hundreds of diamonds as they watched as well."
"Her hair floated around her like a midnight halo and her white face looked like a star in the sky."
"The tiger glared like a spoiled child."
"As the sky deepened like brewing tea, Minli and the dragon looked in silence at the red line reaching to the heavens."
"Minli felt like a fish gasping for air."
"She was at last able to see that her daughter's laughter and love could not be improved by having the finest clothes or jewels, that joy had been in her home like a gift waiting to be opened."
