Last Minute Gift Book Suggestion

Author M. T. Anderson Recommends Newbery Honor Book by Grace Lin

Author M. T. Anderson suggests anyone looking for a gift book for young people add Grace Lin's award-winning Where the Mountains Meet the Moon to the top of their lists. About this New York Times bestseller Anderson says, "Grace Lin's Newbery Honor winning story of a brave girl's miraculous quest to save her village from starvation is a pip of an adventure story for younger readers. While it reads like a Chinese fairy-tale of adventure -- with dragons, disguised kings, and talking fish -- it is also a beautiful meditation on the way that, as we grow older, we come to truly understand the places we grew up."

In its starred review, Andrew Medlar of Booklist says, "In this enchanted and enchanting adventure, Minli, whose name means "quick thinking," lives with her desperately poor parents at the confluence of Fruitless Mountain and the Jade River. While her mother worries and complains about their lot, her father brightens their evenings with storytelling. One day, after a goldfish salesman promises that his wares will bring good luck, Minli spends one of her only two coins in an effort to help her family. After her mother ridicules what she believes to be a foolish purchase, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon, who, it is told, may impart the true secret to good fortune. Along the way, she finds excitement, danger, humor, magic, and wisdom, and she befriends a flightless dragon, a talking fish, and other companions and helpmates in her quest. With beautiful language, Lin creates a strong, memorable heroine and a mystical land. Stories, drawn from a rich history of Chinese folktales, weave throughout her narrative, deepening the sense of both the characters and the setting and smoothly furthering the plot. Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude. Lin's own full-color drawings open each chapter. "

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon was featured on the December Today Show Kid's Books Club. Watch a video of Al Roker interviewing Grace Lin about the book. 

To learn more about author and illustrator Grace Lin and all her books, check out her website and read her blog. Her website includes a free downloadable Activity Book and Event Kit to help you enrich the reading experience of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon with the young people in your life.

M. T. Anderson has written stories for adults, picture books for children, adventure novels for young readers, and several books for older readers (both teens and adults). His satirical book Feed was a Finalist for the National Book Award and was the winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize. The first volume of his Octavian Nothing saga won the National Book Award and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Prize. Both the first and second volumes of that two-part series were Printz Honor Books. He has published stories for adults in literary journals like The Northwest Review, The Colorado Review, and Conjunctions. Anderson is also a contributor to Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, which is available on READ.GOV. Anderson is a member of the board of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. You can learn more about Anderson and his books on his website.