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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

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  CITATION : Lin, G. (2009). Where the mountain meets the moon. Little, Brown And Company. CHARACTERS:  The main character of the book is Minli, a young girl with a wild imagination. She is described as a very brave and ambitious girl who goes to seek a better life for her and her family. Her parents, who she calls “Ma” and “Ba ”, have very contrasting views to each other. Ma is more pessimistic due to the hardships her family is facing, while Ba is more hopeful and imaginative.   There are secondary characters throughout the story that each have unique personalities and motivations that fit into various parts of the story. The characters throughout the story reflect traditional Chinese values like family storytelling, fate, and the importance of community.   The characters are morally complex, but do begin to change and evolve. Ma is initially seen as harsh, but her harshness and pessimism is out of fear and frustration. Through the story she begins to become m...
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Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

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CITATION : Gene Luen Yang. (2020). Dragon hoops. First Second, An Imprint Of Roaring Brook Press. CHARACTERS:  The characters in the book are based on real people which adds a level of authenticity and helps to avoid any stereotypes. Gene Luen Yang is one of the main characters in the book and shows growth throughout the story instead of portraying himself as an expert in his work. The other main characters in the story are the basketball players on Bishop O’Dowd’s team and Coach Lou. Yang writes these characters as more than just athletes. He highlights their personal stories and shows them as individuals.   The characters of the story are very diverse and come from various racial and cultural backgrounds. Yang emphasizes how basketball is a shared cultural experience that can bring together students from different backgrounds .    There is no standard “good” or “evil” in this story. The characters are real people who are portrayed as complex and human. The chara...
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Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say

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  CITATION : Say, A. (2017). S i lent days, silent dreams. Arthur A. Levine Books. CHARACTERS:  The story is about James Castle, a deaf, mute, and autistic artist. He is shown as being creative, observant, and expressive, although he was nonverbal. His family members were complex and showed support at times but didn’t always understand James. James’ disability was portrayed without being tragic or a cliche, which allows for a balanced perspective.   James is shown as having challenges due to his limited access to appropriate education and communication tools during the early 1900s. James eventually develops his own form of communication through his art.   While the story reflects a single culture, a rural American family, it does focus on those with disabilities and their cross-cultural interactions. Allen Say mentions that he was interested in James due to their shared i nteractions with others while being “different ”.     SETTING:  The story is se...
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