Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

 Minli lives in a poor village at the base of Fruitless Mountain. She feels badly that her parents have to work so hard just to put rice on the table, and that her mother fills each day with disappointed sighs.  Minli loves her father's stories about The Old Man in the Moon and one day decides to find him and ask him how to improve the fortunes of her family.  On the way Minli meets a dragon and other characters from Chinese mythology who each give Minli a piece of the puzzle of her destiny.  

I have read this before and read it again in preparation for the July Parent/Child Bookclub.  I was surprised to find that I hadn't blogged about it before, though I have written about the subsequent books in the series. Grace Lin is a lyrical writer with a wonderful way of blending the real with the fastastic. I love how the stories Minli hears from her father and others foreshadow later events so that in the end everything comes together in a single complete whole. I look forward to discussing this book with the young families who come to my book club. The only difficulty will be deciding which of all the rich topics presented in the book to discuss. (278p, 2009)