Asian Pacific American Lit

Lin, Grace. 2009. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON. New York : Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316114271


Minli and her parents are poor farmers. At the end of their long hard days working in the fields, Minli’s father entertains her by telling stories. Minli’s mother thinks the stories are foolishness. She wishes for a better life. One day Minli sets out on a mission to find the Man of the Moon and ask him how to change her family’s fortune. Along the way she meets a dragon, an orphan, a king, and wonderful family, all of whom have stories of their own and lessons to teach Minli.

The story unfolds by going back and forth between Minli’s fantastical adventures and the telling of folktales. Cultural markers include the names of characters. Minli means “quick thinking”. Other characters have Chinese names like Ye Ye and Wu Kang. Foods identify the culture, too. Minli often has rice and tea at meals, and uses chop sticks. Full-page color illustrations throughout the book, and simpler drawings at the beginning of each chapter depict Chinese landscapes, scenes and artifacts from the story. The dragon, kites, rice bowls, are among the drawings that add to the Chinese setting.

The characters in the story are very well developed. Minli’s mother starts out as discontented and resentful, wishing for a better life. After Minli leaves she gradually learns that what is really important is the love for her family. Minli, too, learns this lesson. She saw that the orphan’s existence was much more meager than her own, and that more than anything she wanted to be back with her family. Booklist gave WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON a starred review and said, “Children will embrace this accessible, timeless story about the evil of greed and the joy of gratitude.”







Say, Allen. 1993. GRANDFATHER’S JOURNEY. Boston, MA : Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0395570352

This book won the Caldecott medal. School Library Journal said its “splendid, photoreal watercolors have the look of formal family portraits or candid snapshots, all set against idyllic landscapes in Japan and in the U.S.” Grandfather’s Journey is the story of author Allen Say’s grandfather immigrating from Japan to the United States. In the beginning it shows the grandfather as a young man in traditional Japanese dress. He travels across the country and gets assimilated into American culture. He returns to Japan to marry his childhood sweetheart. Back and forth the grandfather goes between the United States and Japan.

This book will give children a peek into Japanese culture. On one page the grandfather sits on a cushion on the floor, in Japanese clothing, with bamboo shades in the background, a pot of tea by his side. On another, the grandfather and his bride pose for a wedding portrait, she in traditional Japanese kimono, and he in a European suit.

Both the author and his grandfather love both places. In the end Say expresses the sentiment that lies within his own heart as well as his grandfather’s, “The funny thing is, the moment I am in one country, I am homesick for the other.”






Yep, Laurence. 1997. Illustrated by Kam Mak. THE DRAGON PRINCE: A CHINESE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST TALE. New York : HarperCollins. ISBN 0060243813


Seven is the youngest daughter in a very poor family. When her father is captured by a powerful dragon, she agrees to marry the dragon to save her father’s life. She climbed on the dragon’s back, “…higher and farther the dragon raced, until the Milky Way wound its way across the night sky like an endless bolt of the whitest silk.” This kind of language sets the stage for quite a dramatic fantasy. The illustrations in the book add to the Asian setting by depicting the beautiful dragon, Chinese characters with dark eyes and hair, in traditional clothing.

Although the pictures are pretty and the language is interesting, the story is predictable from start to finish, and not very exciting in my opinion. Furthermore, I question the authenticity of the situation in which the father asks the daughter to marry the dragon to save his own life. This might have been an ancient Chinese custom, but certainly not one that would be considered realistic or acceptable today.