illustrated by Grace Lin
Summary
School Library Journal:
/* Starred Review */ Gr 3-6— The moon is missing from the sky, and its absence causes unrelenting heat and drought. At night, Rendi can hear the sky moan and whimper for the missing moon, a sound that has plagued him since running away from home and ending up as a chore boy at an isolated inn. When a mysterious and glamorous guest arrives, she bring stories and asks Rendi to tell her tales in return. These stories weave the characters and plotlines together while revealing the backstory of Rendi’s flight from home, the village’s geography, and the missing moon, and how they tie together. This follow-up to Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown, 2009), takes place centuries earlier, when Magistrate Tiger’s son was still young, and missing. The stories the characters tell are based on traditional Chinese folktales, but Lin adds her own elements and layers and mixes them with original tales to form a larger narrative that provides the background and the answers for the frame story. This tight and cyclical plotting, combined with Lin’s vibrant, full-color paintings and chapter decorations, creates a work that is nothing short of enchanting. Like the restored moon, Starry River outshines the previous work.—Jennifer Rothschild, Prince George’s County Memorial Library System, Oxon Hill, MD –Jennifer Rothschild (Reviewed September 1, 2012) (School Library Journal, vol 58, issue 9, p149)
Awards:
- ALA Notable Children’s Books – Middle Readers Category: 2013
- Booklist Editors’ Choice – Books for Youth – Middle Readers Category: 2012