Starry River of the Sky

Starred review from September 3, 2012
Lin returns to Chinese folklore as the foundation for this masterfully told tale. Rendi, a runaway with a shadowy past, mistakenly lands at a remote inn and is taken on as chore boy. Plagued by moans he alone hears issuing nightly from the sky, perplexed by the absence of the moon, and longing to escape the unhappy villagers, Rendi is unwillingly drawn into their problems when wise, enigmatic Madame Chang arrives. Lin’s signature device of interspersing the plot with stories told by various characters enriches this story on many levels, especially when Rendi, pressured by Madame Chang, begins to tell his own revealing stories. Neither sequel nor prequel, this fantasy is linked to Lin’s Newbery Honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009), through numerous elements, including lush imagery, glorious full-color artwork, food similes (“Rendi’s muscles were as soft as uncooked tofu”), and the cruel and hot-tempered Magistrate Tiger. The lively mix of adventure, mystery, and fantasy, supported by compelling character development and spellbinding language, will captivate a wide swath of readers. Ages 8–12. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House.

Starred review from September 1, 2012
When a troubled runaway arrives in an isolated Chinese village where the moon has disappeared, he initiates a quest to find the missing orb and resolve his past. Escaping from home in a merchant's cart, Rendi's abandoned in the Village of Clear Sky, where the innkeeper hires him as chore boy. Bad-tempered and insolent, Rendi hates Clear Sky, but he has no way of leaving the sad village where every night the sky moans and the moon has vanished. The innkeeper's bossy daughter irritates Rendi. He wonders about the innkeeper's son who's disappeared and about peculiar old Mr. Shan, who confuses toads with rabbits. When mysterious Madame Chang arrives at the inn, her storytelling transports Rendi. She challenges him to contribute his own stories, in which he gradually reveals his identity as son of a wealthy magistrate. Realizing there's a connection between Madame Chang's stories and the missing moon, Rendi assumes the hero's mantle, transforming himself from a selfish, self-focused boy into a thoughtful young man who learns the meaning of home, harmony and forgiveness. Lin artfully wraps her hero's story in alternating layers of Chinese folklore, providing rich cultural context. Detailed, jewel-toned illustrations and spot art reminiscent of Chinese painting highlight key scenes and themes and serve as the focus of an overall exquisite design. A worthy companion to Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009). (author's note, bibliography of Chinese folk tales) (Fantasy. 8-12)

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Starred review from September 1, 2012

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

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2012
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* This mesmerizing companion to the Newbery Honor Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009) does not disappoint. Rendi has run away from home, stowed in the back of a merchant's cart, until he is discovered and left stranded in the scarcely populated Village of Clear Sky. There he becomes the innkeeper's chore boy and is introduced to a cast of characters, including Mr. Shan, a wise older man; Madame Chang, a mysterious out-of-town guest with a gift for storytelling; and a toad whom Mr. Shan calls Rabbit. All the while, the moon is missing, and it seems only Rendi is tormented by the sky's sad wailing noises at night. Madame Chang insists that for each story she tellsincluding one about ruler Wang Yi's wife, who transformed into a toad and lived out the rest of her days on the moonRendi must tell one of his own. Unlike its predecessor, this novel is stationary in setting, but it offers up similar stories based on Chinese folklore that interweave with and advance the main narrative. Each of the tales reveals something important about the teller, and most offer a key piece of the mysterious puzzle: what happened to the moon? A few characters from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, including Magistrate Tiger, appear on the periphery of the action. Lin's writing is clear and lyrical, her plotting complex, and her illustrations magical, all of which make this a book to be savored.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

February 25, 2013
In Lin’s book based on Chinese folklore, Rendi is a young runaway who finds himself working as a chore boy at a remote inn in the Village of Clear Sky. Master Chow and his young daughter take the surly boy in, along with a strange woman named Madame Chang. At first, all Rendi can think about is leaving the inn. But soon, he becomes entranced by Madame Chang, the stories she tells, and her transformative powers over the inhabitants of the Village of Clear Sky. But trouble arises when Rendi notices that the moon is missing and hears the sky moaning, as if in deep grief. Narrator Kim Mai Guest delivers an engaging performance that allows listeners to get lost in the story. Additionally, she creates distinct and vivid voices for the characters in an audio edition that features lovely incidental music. This is a gorgeous audiobook—and listeners will want to hear it again and again. Ages 8-12. A Little, Brown hardcover.

January 1, 2013
The moon is missing, and no one besides Rendi, who has run away from home, angry at his father, notices. This handsomely illustrated companion novel surpasses [cf2]Where the Mountain Meets the Moon[cf1] in plot and prose, again using interspersed stories that circle around one another. The message that anger distorts while forgiveness transforms never seems repetitive and adroitly bolsters the characters' connections.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 1, 2012
Angry at his father, Rendi has run away from home and is working at a village inn as a chore boy, filling in for the innkeeper's own son, who also has left home, angry at his father. The boys aren't the only absentees -- there are other missing items, including the moon, a fact no one besides Rendi seems to notice. Readers gradually discover that the moon equals peace; therefore finding the moon means finding peace, which is found through forgiveness. This companion novel to Lin's Newbery Honor-winning Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (rev. 9/09) surpasses that book in both plot and prose, again using interspersed stories that neatly circle around one another. The message that anger distorts while forgiveness transforms runs throughout the novel, never seeming repetitive and always feeling fresh while adroitly bolstering the connections among the various characters. Rendi's father's arrogance and anger, for instance, have turned him into someone known as Magistrate Tiger; in one of the novel's many stories-within-the-story, a tiger transforms back into a man when treated with kindness. That the book celebrates the significance of storytelling is especially gratifying, conveyed as it is through such an enthrallingly told and handsomely illustrated tale. The novel stands alone, but readers of the first book will happily pick up on familiar characters and tales -- and will look forward eagerly to the planned third volume. jennifer m. brabander

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)