Life is hard in Minli’s Village of Fruitless Mountain, where she lives with Ba and Ma, her father and mother. Despite their hardships, Minli finds joy in the magical stories Ba tells at dinner each evening. When Minli spends her family’s last two coins to buy a goldfish, the fantasy of her father’s stories merges with the bleak reality of their daily life. Unable to feed the fish, Minli releases it in the river, and in payment the fish tells her how to get to Never-Ending Mountain. There, Minli knows, she can ask a question of the Old Man of the Moon. Determined to find out how to change the fortune of her town, she sets off. Grace Lin deftly inserts a series of tales inspired by traditional Chinese folktales into the larger tapestry of Minli’s extraordinary journey that is full of adventure and trials. Gorgeous book design augments this fast-paced fantasy, including occasional full-page color illustrations, chapter heading decorations, and a typeface treatment that visually distinguishes the folktale segments from the overarching story of Minli’s quest. (Ages 8–11)

Minli’s family ekes out a meager subsistence from the rice fields in Fruit less Mountain’s shadow where the Jade River, whose color in reality dispar ages its name, meanders past the village. The only real joys in the young girl’s life are her father’s fantastic tales of Fruitless Mountain, Jade Dragon, and the Old Man of the Moon. Minli sets out on a marvelous journey to bring prosperity to her family and their village, guided only by her father’s mythol ogy, a goldfish, and the magic that prevails in hearts pure enough to believe. Grace Lin embellishes this original fairy tale with striking, gold spot art and evocative full-page, color illustrations. 2010 Newbery Honor. lmp