A husband and wife live uncomfortably under a mountain. Advice from a wise man leads them to try and solve their problem. ( )

a funny book about how a wise man tricks a poor man into moving his house away from a mountain
1 book

I would not recommend this book due to the choppy language and demeaning story line. It is about a husband and wife who want to move a mountain away from their house. They ask a wise man many times for strategies to move the mountain. Eventually, the wise man tells them to do a "dance" which calls for them to walk backwards with their eyes closed. The ending is silly but does not portray this Chinese couple in a positive light. The language throughout the book was very choppy and hard to read. There were many short sentences that did not flow. I do enjoy the illustrations but the fluidity of the pictures does not match the words on the page. I do not plan on using this book in my classroom. ( )

The couple lives beside a big mountain which causes them no end of trouble. Shadows fall over their garden. Rocks fall through their roof. And it is always raining. "Husband," says Ming Lo's wife, "you must move the mountain so we may enjoy our house in peace." But how can a man as small as Ming Lo move something as large as a mountain?

I would use this book with a second or third grade class to discuss multicultural folk literature. This is Asian folk literature. Students could compare and contrast the folklore from different cultures. The writing is fairly simple and predictable, and would be best to use in younger classes, no older than third grade.