Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

The questions inside

One per chapter, across all 20 chapters — every question is editable before you print.

1. How does the author describe Minli’s home near Fruitless Mountain? How does this setting help you understand Minli’s life?
2. What do Ba’s stories show about hope, even when Minli’s family is poor and tired?
3. Why do you think Minli buys the goldfish? What does this choice show about her character?
4. How are Ma’s and Ba’s feelings about stories and hope different? Which parent do you understand more, and why?
5. After Minli hears the goldfish talk, what choice does she make? What might happen next because of this choice?
6. Do you think Minli is brave, foolish, or both when she leaves home to find the Old Man of the Moon? Explain your thinking.
7. When Minli first meets Dragon, how does she treat him? What does this show about the kind of friend she might be?
8. Dragon has been alone for a long time. How does his problem connect to Minli’s problem?
9. The book includes stories inside the main story. What is one lesson from one of these stories, and how might it help Minli?
10. When Minli faces an obstacle on her journey, how does she use cleverness instead of strength to solve the problem?
11. What does Dragon add to the journey that Minli could not do alone? What does Minli add that Dragon needs?
12. How does meeting the buffalo boy change the feeling of Minli’s adventure? What does he teach or show her?
13. While Minli is gone, what do Ma and Ba begin to learn or understand about their daughter and themselves?
14. Choose one important word from these chapters, such as fortune, contentment, or gratitude. What does the word mean, and how does it connect to the story?
15. In the City of Bright Moonlight, how do rules or traditions affect Minli’s ability to get help?
16. What does the king’s choice to help Minli show about leadership and kindness?
17. The borrowed line becomes important to the quest. What do you predict Minli will need to do with it?
18. How do danger and fear change what Minli and Dragon learn about courage?
19. How do Da-A-Fu and their village show a different kind of richness than gold or jewels?
20. By this point, how has Minli’s idea of fortune begun to change? Use details from her journey.

Example answers

Printed at the front of the booklet, so your reader can see what a strong answer looks like.

Why do you think Minli buys the goldfish? What does this choice show about her character?

I think Minli buys the goldfish because she wants to believe her family’s luck can change. Even though the money is very important, she is willing to take a risk for hope. This shows that Minli is curious, brave, and not ready to give up. She wants a better life for her parents, not just for herself.

When Minli faces an obstacle on her journey, how does she use cleverness instead of strength to solve the problem?

Minli shows that she does not have to be the biggest or strongest person to solve a problem. She thinks carefully and notices what others want or need. I like that she uses her brain instead of trying to fight. This makes her seem wise for her age and helps her move forward on the journey.

By this point, how has Minli’s idea of fortune begun to change? Use details from her journey.

At first, I think Minli believes fortune mostly means having more money and an easier life. As she travels, she starts to see that friends, kindness, and family are also kinds of fortune. Dragon, the buffalo boy, and other helpers show her that people can be rich in different ways. I think she is beginning to understand that changing her family’s fortune may not only mean finding gold.