In The Moon Lady, Amy Tan author of The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter, presents a small tale for young children which adults will also enjoy. Focusing on a story set in China, Tan brings her wealth of knowledge about China and its folktales as well as her love for this country and its traditions. In addition, the illustrations by Gretchen Schields add a wonderful dimension to the story since readers can also visualize the tale by viewing these pictures.

On a rainy day as grandchildren whine that they can't play outside their grandmother tells them a tale based on her own experiences as a child. Using this method Tan provides an allegorical tale concerning children and their wishes. Telling the children of her wishes as a young girl, Ying Ying tells the children a story about her own wishes at the times of the Moon Festival. And as all folk tales provide, Tan is adept at providing her readers with an adventurous tale compete with the mysterious Moon Lady and a moral to the story.

This is a good book for young children who cannot only learn about the Chinese culture but the saying "Be careful what you wish for." I also recommend this book at any age since it is also important to remember this as we move on in life.

To be honest, this book is reminiscent of a certain chapter in Amy Tan's other book, "Joy Luck Club". In fact, the whole story is lifted from the mentioned novel, and loosely edited to create an entirely detached story for children. But, the whole bit about Nai-nai telling the story was probably the only drastic change. I've no complaints about it though, as a lighter tone seems to be induced in this version, which is (yes) perfect for children, as compared to the more melancholy tone produced in "Joy Luck Club". As a Chinese myself, and having a younger brother and a few kid relatives, I find this book to also be educational with the respect of reintroducing a familiar yet distant tradition to them. Through this wonderfully crafted story which is set at a (Chinese/Lunar) New Year Festival in the bygone days of China, children are taught to find themselves and their loved ones through a series of journeys to undertake and overcome. The great artwork is a bonus. Of course, a better understanding of the background of the legendary moon lady wouldn't do any harm. Still, read the "Joy Luck Club" to get a bigger picture of the story's presence. It's not in the movie.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Moon Lady was one of her picks.

Adapted from Amy Tan's best selling book, The Joy Luck Club, The Moon Lady is a perfect book for encouraging children to read with and talk to their grandmother. The book also very subtly encourages children to take more responsibility for their own lives. The story provides a model for parents and grandparents for how to create their own stories to help children learn important lessons.

The story begins as three girls, Maggie, Lily and June, are bored because they have to stay in on a rainy day and can think of nothing that they want to do. Their grandmother, Nai-nai, is with them. Nai-nai tells them a story about when she was a young girl in China, and she ran and shouted and could not stand still also.

The story is about the day she told the Moon Lady her secret wish. Then unfolds a wonderful story of a young girl's adventure on a special trip to see the Moon Lady. Along the way, she sees many things she has not seen before, falls overboard, is rescued by a fishing family, and finds her family again after meeting the Moon Lady. In the process, she has one of those epiphanies that make all of our lives better -- that she is in charge of creating her own future.

The story is filled with references to family bonding and what is and is not proper behavior. The story also shows what family life was like for a somewhat well-to-do Chinese family in China at the beginning of the 20th century. These references are made all the more realistic by a wonderful series of drawings by Gretchen Schields with bright colors, beautiful detail, and authentic depictions of the China of years ago. It's almost like living a beautiful dream.

Then Nai-nai takes her granddaughters out to dance in the moon after the story is over.

Of all the children's books I have read, I place this one in the top ten for the 4-8 age category.

A central problem for many children today is that too much television, too many structured activities, and too little free time leave them feeling lost when nothing is on the agenda. Our misconception is that they need regimented lives like those that soldiers lead to fulfill their potential. This book will encourage you to readdress that misconception, and focus on how to make your children more competent in thinking about others, being more independent, and designing their own beneficial activities. That is all very important to actually unleashing their full potential. When you are done, think about how perhaps your own life needs a little improvement along these same lines.

Enjoy!

Donald Mitchell (donmitch@2000percentsolution.com)

I've read Amy Tan's "Joy Luck Club" and "Kitchen God's Wife" and had no idea that she's a wonderful children's author as well. I learned about this book from watching the same titled PBS series. The series is cute for kids, but the book is a wonderful story, rich in history and beautifully illustrated. Tan is a gifted writer that children and adults can appreciate.

This is a great little story book. I bought this especially for my niece who loves the cartoon. It's a bit long so I read it in installments before her afternoon naps and she loves it and can't wait to hear the other parts. This helps her to look forward to nap times now (phew). Although another reviewer labels it as stereotyped I think it still helps kids to learn of and tolerate lifestyles other than their own. The book does so in a simple way after all it is for kids and at that stage of life it is not harmful as they have more time to get into further details.

Amy Tan proves her talent with this book. She shows a young kitten's innocence and how it changes the province. A wonderful read for children and adults alike. Amy's got a hit!

If you've enjoyed any of Amy Tan's previous books, then you shouldn't be disappointed. In "The Hundred Secret Senses," you'll find Tan's consistently running themes of mother-daughter relationships, the American vs. the Chinese perspective, and parallel storylines. In this case, the story focuses on the relationship between Olivia and her older sister Kwan, who acts as Olivia's surrogate mother.

All her life, Olivia wanted her mother to pay more attention to her. One day, young Olivia discovers that she has a half sister in China, whom the family has decided to adopt. When Kwan joins the family in America, Olivia's mother gladly hands all mothering duties to Kwan, and Olivia's hopes of gaining her mother's affections are dashed. She is immediately resentful of her big sister, and this attitude continues on into adulthood. However, despite Olivia's often ungrateful attitude, Kwan showers Olivia with unconditional love.

Kwan is a unique character to say the least. She claims to be able to see ghosts, and she can remember her past lives. This is where the secondary storyline comes in. Kwan tells the story of her past life, a century ago, when she was a poor girl from the mountains of China who befriended a young American woman named Ms. Banner.

As we learn more about Kwan's life with Ms. Banner, we learn about the present day conflicts of Olivia and her troubled marriage.

The two storylines weave together to work toward a big reveal, similar to "The Kitchen God's Wife." However, in this case, the reveal is really not that surprising since the book foreshadows it so much. Also, The first third part of the book is a frustratingly slow read because Kwan's "past life" chapters introduce information and characters in no particular order. My advice: reread the first couple of chapters of Kwan's story until you know the characters and their roles. Olivia's chapters will read quickly. My third criticism is that the protagonist, Olivia, is not very likable. This is probably mostly owing to her mistreatment of Kwan, who is absolutely lovable.

Despite these criticisms, the book still moved me to tears. Amy Tan has a wonderful narrative style, and Kwan is one of the most endearing characters I have ever read.

This book could kind of be called "The Sixth Sense, Amy Tan Style". After all, there is a strange similarity between the first line of this book ("My sister Kwan believes she has yin eyes.") and the often quoted line from "The Sixth Sense" ("I see dead people!"). Yet, Amy Tan's tale is a story of Chinese mysticism, family ties, and modern and historical China - a fascinating albeit weird novel!

This is the story about the relationship between half-sisters Kwan and Olivia. Kwan comes from China and serves as a mother-figure for the young Olivia, haunting her with tales of ghost and past lives. These mystical tales are engrossing because they also give a history of Manchu China.

This book goes where Amy Tan's other novels haven't - it actually travels to modern-day China. This was my favorite part of the book! The descriptions were so well-written that I felt like the characters who were seeing China for the first time. I'd like to thank Ms. Tan for "showing" me this unique culture!

We are students at Saint Marys School, and have recently read The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan. In this novel, Amy Tan explores both the real and spiritual worlds of the Chinese/American culture. She successfully connects the ancient Chinese culture with modern day Chinese/American culture. With interesting twists and wonderfully detailed and dialogued stories, readers can really grasp on to the ideas and themes of this novel. The author gives her views of growing up in a modern day Chinese/American home and living with her half sister Kwan. Although Kwan may seem annoying and pesky to Olivia with all of her spiritual interests, Olivia learns to appreciate Kwan and her ways. This novel is a wonderful tool to use to learn about ancient Chinese culture and modern Chinese/American culture.

this book offers no "brilliant insight" - it is just a list of quotes the author found interesting. The organization is loose and reading even a couple pages of it is choppy at best.

A good concept & a nice little book. I'd like to see this idea expanded into a larger work, with more children's books used as sources, & with subject & title indices. It'd be even better then!

I just happened upon this book in my local bookstore, and I feel lucky really. It's a gem. Filled with wonderfully witty and wise quotations from childrens books through the ages. The quotations brought back lovely memories of my own childhood and my own childhood reading. They also reminded me of how beautiful and eloquent and wise the simple thoughts are from great children's literature. Thank you, Amy Gash, for putting together such a thoughtful and moving collection. I plan to buy many as gifts for friends and for my own children's teachers. There's a lot to learn from children's literature--wisdom and perspective and, perhaps most of all, a sense humor. I can't think of a better introduction to the world of children's literature--and what it has to offer to grown ups too--than What The Dormouse Said.

In the Joy Luck Club I have learned that the bond between mother and daughter is greater in some countries than in others. These women and their daughters have all experienced hard times but have pushed through them together and learned from them. The mothers are all immigrants from China that came over for different reasons. Some for money, some for family, and some just to escape the Chinese way of life. They went through tough times to get to America like giving up twin babies or making up lies about ancestors to escape an arranged marriage. These mothers were so strong and wanted nothing more than to teach their daughters to be strong as well. The daughters are AMERICAN GIRLS or so they say. They were raised in an American culture and learned the American ways. Some even went against their parents wishes and dated and married white boys, which was a bad thing to do. I really ewnjoyed the book. At first it was hard to read but once I got started I couldn't stop. My favorite character was Waverly Jong, the headstrong daughter who escapes her mothers world of chess meant for her daughter to become successful and eventually one day going to China to find her two twin sisters that her mother had to leave in China. When her mother died and Waverly had to take her mom'm place at the Jpy Luck Club she went to China with the goose feather to share her joy with her other daughters. Waverly also delivered my favorite line when she got to China. She was choked up and said, " Mama has gone to heaven, but I have come to share her joy!" and the daughters meet for the first time and hug each other. It weas really touching. All in all the book was very good and I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to read a story that touches your heart.

The Joy Luck Club is a classic book in Twentieth Century American Literature, and Asain-American literature. It follows the lives of four Chinese women in China during the 40's as well as their American-born daughters in California a generation later. The characters are Suyuan Woo and her daughter Jing-mei (who goes by "June"), An-mei Hsu and her daughter Rose Hsu Jordan, Lindo Jong and her daughter Waverly, and Ying-ying St. Clair and her daughter Lena. It is almost like a book of short stories, because each woman (and daughter) takes a turn or two at telling a story from her life. Each story eventually connects with other stories, but they can also be read alone and make complete sense. Four stories are grouped into one category, so they all are placed into fitting themes. The first grouping is under "Feathers From a Thousand Li Away", and deal with the mother's stories of living in China. The next is "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates", in which the daughters are introduced and each speaks about her life as an Asian-American, and how each incorporates the legends, stories, and tradition of their mother's countries with modern life in their own. The third grouping is "American Translation", which delves furhter into the complications of living in two worlds at once. The last grouping is "Queen Mother of the Western Skies" and deals with issues of aging and the loss of innocence.

Tan's writing style is quite simplistic but the issues she addresses are important and deep. During the reading of this book one can grasp the contrasts between China and America, and can sense the problems and excitement of a Chinese mother raising an American daughter in a completely different environment than that in which she grew up, as well as being that Asain-American daughter. Another theme addressed in this book is that of mother-daughter relationships. All the relationships in this book are strained, and the women involved misunderstand and misinterpret one another because of the cultural differences even though they have genetic similarities.

I am glad I read this famous and often-talked-about book, however the writing style was so simple and the plots so easy to follow that I wish I had read it earlier. I think it would be a good book for teenagers, but if you are an adult who has never read it, I also recommend it to you. The issues addressed within it are timeless and thought-provoking.

THE JOY LUCK CLUB, a novel by Amy Tan, tells of the intricate relationships between two strong-willed generations, four tough, intelligent American women and their equally tenacious Chinese daughters. The four families are connected through the Joy Luck Club, a mah jong group that meets each week. After its founding member passes away, her daughter is asked to take her place at the table and the stories begin. Each of the eight women narrates two stories from her own point of view except for the deceased whose daughter tells her stories for her. The mothers relate stories about their lives in China, and the daughters tell of the trials that they face growing up as first-generation Chinese-Americans. The women that Tan has crafted are well developed and extraordinarily believable. She shows the strong and weak sides to all eight of her main characters. Her men however, are flat and are there simply as supporting characters. This is to be expected since this is essentially a book about mother-daughter relationships and how women bond. Therefore, it is my assumption that this book is aimed, for the most part, at the female reader. Tan's literary style is truly novel. The way this woman writes can't be compared to anything that I have read in recent years. The novel that I feel comes closest to mirroring Tan's subject matter is THE GOOD EARTH by Pearl S. Buck. As I was reading, I found myself continually drawing parallels between the two. Therefore, if you found Buck's novel enjoyable, Tan's will be a pleasure as well. At face value, I feel that Tan wrote sixteen incredibly interesting stories. It is the undercurrent that runs throughout the novel, however, that makes it a classic. No matter what race you are, or when your ancestors came to America, the themes that rings true to all women are the struggles that we see underscored by the fierce love that is so obviously shared between each mother and daughter. The topic has universal appeal. Who hasn't been ashamed of her roots at one time or another? In this case, the mothers are trying to instill their Chinese spirits into their Americanized daughters before their ancestry is lost forever. The daughters fight their mothers every step of the way under the pretense of independence from overbearing matriarchs. However, I got the feeling that the conflicts arise because the daughters are somewhat embarrassed by their Chinese heritage. They seem to want to be as stereotypically "American" as they possibly can. What they all come to realize at the end of the book, though to different degrees, is that what they have been battling against is something that can't be fought. The daughter of the deceased expresses all of their feelings best when she proclaims' "I see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood." This novel reminded me of an old quilt my grandmother currently owns that has been passd down for generations. Each square is beautiful enough to stand alone. Each has its own special meaning in the history of our family, but when delicately woven together with the others, creates such a masterpiece that it truly ties each of us together. You can understand what it means to be a part of our family be examining the blanket. I like to think that THE JOY LUCK CLUB is the start of Amy Tan's quilt. She is telling the women that came before her that they will not be forgotten. She is assuring them that she has captured their spirits. Her dedication at the beginning of the novel is what allowed me to arrive at this conclusion. "To my mother and the memory of her mother...You asked me once what I would remember. This and much more." This review cannot possibly do THE JOY LUCK CLUB justice. Tan is a truly gifted storyteller and her novels must be experienced firsthand. The highest compliment that I can give is that in the midst of the busiest summer of my life, with summer readings stacked high atop my desk, and the buzz of the alarm clock awaiting me in less than five hours, I couldn't help myself. I read it again.

Reviewed by Colleen Clancy Collen died in a car crash along with two of her classmates on September 22, 1998, the morning after she read this review to her senior English class at Notre Dame Academy, Hingham, MA. Her English class would like to pay tribute to her memory by publishing her work in the Amazon Student Book Review column.

I read the description & bought 2 copies - one for my father-in-law and one for me. It may have encouraged him to finally start writing down some family stories but he made no comment about the book which means he didn't like it. I could not get into my copy although I have tried several times -- and I usually finish every book I start. I did not think the writing was that good & it did not get my interest.

This is a great book. I came across this book by accident and loved it. The book is written as a series of short stories from the perspective a small boy growing up in 1930's China. Yang provides the reader will a taste of life in China during the 1930's.

The author painted the pictures in the book. The paintings add zest. Very talented.

The book garnered starred reviews in both the "Library Journal" and "Kirkus Review" and so I had to read it for myself. The author writes as well as she paints. A fresh voice. It is one of those rare creations that is hard to place. Is it fiction or non-fiction? History or literature? I'd say both. It is a fresh look at China from the eyes of country folks, those who disappeared without a murmur in the chaos of war. I would recommend it to lovers of literature and lovers of history.

This is the first book of Amy Tan I read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was totally captivated by the mother's story in China. It is mostly the story of a Chinese woman growing up in Shanghai and rural China and then living the war years in different parts of China. Amy Tan vividly captures the images of China and the Chinese character in a thoroughly enjoyable and very readable way. It makes them accessible in a way where you can actually develop a real understanding of the Chinese obsession with luck, superstition and manners.

I particularly enjoyed the fascinating account of the preparations for the marriage and a wedding with war approaching fast in the Shanghai background. I couldn't help recalling the images of "Empire of the Sun", even though that dealt more with the super privileged lives of the colonials rather than the merely privileged lives of the well off locals.

The tale of many years of a bad marriage at a very difficult time intertwined with friendships and adventure flows so naturally. The "suspense" is never reduced even though you know the outcome. The brutality of thoroughly dreadfull man, the husband is in the background all the time, even in later days in America.

I really enjoyed the description of the situation in Shanghai following the defeat of the Japanese and in the period prior to the KMT collapse. Amy Tan paint a picture of ciaos and confusion again in natural way, in a setting the scene way so you can actually picture the background and develop an understanding for why and how historic events took place. You never get the impression that Tan set out to give a history lesson, and there is never the dryness of a long section setting the scene; it is just there.

The story eventually returns to America, to the San Francisco China Town and to the life of an Americanized daughter, also in the Bay area. The dialogue and the continued saga of the two old "friends" from China in America was beautifully "ethnic". There is fair bit about the mother - daughter relationship and the daughter's view of her relations. This was fine, but frankly just very distant background that I did not think added much to the book. I don't believe it detracts from it either.

Being found of Asia in general and having reasonable first hand knowledge of China, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think Amy Tan is a gifted novelist with great insight and a fantastic ability to create thriller like suspense of ordinary lives.

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan is a powerful book that is hard to put down. It is interesting and throught-provoking, and although part of the story is sad, Tan inculdes bits of humor in Winnie's story, so it is not as depressing to read as it would have been if the humor was omitted. Through two characters, Pearl and Winnie, the reader understands how the family interacts. What I especially liked about the book were the characters. Despite many hardships Winnnie stayed strong and eventually created a better life for herself. The story she tells about her past in China, mostly around the time of World War II, pulls the reader in and makes the reader want to cheer for her at the end. Because of the difficulties Winnie went through, she made sure her American-born daughter, Pearl, had a good life and avoided the hardships Winnie had suffered. Unfortunately Pearl had her own troubles, specifically illness, and because of that she became a strong person also. The unexpeccted ending to Winnie's story makes the book memorable and outstanding, a book the reader won't forget.

Now that I've read 2 of Ms. Tan's novels (THE KITCHEN GOD'S WIFE and THE BONESETTER'S DAUGHTER) and seen the movie THE JOY LUCK CLUB, I can honestly identify her as one of my favorite authors. Her wonderful story-telling ability, believable characters and fascinating exploration of Chinese culture and history make her stories some of the best I've read in a long time.

The story begins when both Winnie and her daughter Pearl are put in a position whereby they both have to reveal their secrets to each other. The novel, however, is dominated by Winnie's autobiographical account of her life in China before Pearl was born.

Winnie Louie told a fascinating tale of her life - a tale which included a strong focus on Chinese culture and history from a very human perspective. She was a very strong individual who was able to survive and prevail through terrible hardships ...And she was still able to pass on a strongly feminist message about self-repect to her daughter despite the emotional and physical abuse inflicted upon her by her first husband in China.

This is such a powerful story dealing with the mother-daughter bond, friendship, loyalty, cultural differentiations, personal choices, courage and self-respect. The story left me with a lump in my throat - feeling sad, touched and uplifted all at the same time. I can't wait to read THE HUNDRED SECRET SENSES next!

This book is highly useful for use as a reference to the style, complexities, and the method of Tan's writing. I found it especially useful after completeling three of Tan's novels and having to present to a classroom, the style, symbols, characteristics in which Tan uses.

I read the book The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan. In this book the author explores controversial issues such as ender and how it relates to life in China at the beginning of World War II through today. I would recommend this book to anyone who has struggled over any major bumps in their life involving predjudice and injustice. This book show how a person can be strong enough to overcome even the greatest oppression. I would also recommend it because of the strong themes that shine through this riveting novel.

Out of the books I read by Amy Tan, The Kitchen God's Wife was the best, it was easy to understand the effects of Chinese immigrant and their children. This book is a lot easier to follow than the Joy Luck Club because of the flash back, it was hard to tell if she was in the present, past or future. In the Kitchen God's Wife the flash back is easier to tell what point of time she is. The book reviews the life of Winnie, the mother of Pearl about her secrets, life in China, tradition, and how she came to America.

As a fan of Amy Tan's work, I was deeply disappointed in what I can only describe as a derivative, unoriginal, and uninspired chip off the Amy Tan template. If you've read her previous novels, don't expect anything new here. In fact, Tan's writing skills seems to have eroded, becoming more bland and cliched. Meanwhile, it seems she has been running out of ideas, milking the "mother-daughter" theme quite dry. The storyline is compelling, and in particular the story of Precious Auntie has the potential to be heart-rending -- but my problem here is that I've heard it all before, and everything that transpires, including the narrative structure of the story, is predictible. The gratuitous intervention of Luck in the conclusion is egregiously unbelievable.

If you're new to Amy Tan, perhaps this merits 3 or 4 stars -- but in that case, I would recommend "The Joy Luck Club" (still, I believe, her most ambitious if not best work) and "The Kitchen God's Wife"). Otherwise, this book left me concerned that one of my favorite authors is losing steam and inspiration.

I always know I'm in for a treat whenever I pick up an Amy Tan novel. After first hearing of her through The Joy Luck Club movie, I have always looked forward to reading her books and especially for The Bonesetter's Daughter.

The story is a wonderful tale of a mother-daughter relationship, a particularly strong skill of Tan's. Ruth is a modern American woman, ghostwriting for several New Age and self-help novelists and living with her long-term boyfriend Art and his two teenage daughters. Ruth's mother, Lu Ling, is an aging landlady who is having more and more trouble communicating with anyone except her daughter and her sister, Gao Ling. Lu Ling's memory is slipping, causing Ruth no small amount of worry.

Eventually, Ruth moves in with Lu Ling, as much to take a break from her life and get an objective glance, as to take care of her mother. Ruth is finally able to look beyond what her mother seems to be and to learn of Lu Ling's origins in China and how and why she came over to America.

I just can't get over what a richly textured novel Amy Tan wrote. Each chapter is a delight, and in particular, Lu Ling's story was extremely moving and heartfelt. I strongly recommend this novel to both mother-daughter groups and fiction book clubs. I would also recommend *Year of the Smoke Girl* by Olivia Boler as a follow-up.

I purchased this book when it was first released (I'd become a fan of Amy Tan's books having read the other three before), and then just out of curiosity decided to check the reviews of it here at amazon to catch a glimpse of what I was getting into. I'm sad to say that many of the reviews readers gave "The Bonesetter's Daughter", of it being a "rehashing of the same story" and such made me prejudiced towards it, and I put down the book for a few weeks. Pure boredom this past weekend made me finally resolve to give it a try anyway, and I could barely stop to put it down. Sure, it can be argued that the bulk of Ms. Tan's books focus on the mother-daughter relationship dynamic and of past wrongs done to them by men of their pasts...but I think that part of the reason why she's sucessfully been able to transform these themes into their own unique story every time, is because they deal with a part of history in which several different cultures can find kinship. The fact is that Amy Tan is a master of capturing true human emotion in her characters' lives, that touches the reader in a very poigniant way. And this one is no exception. "The Bonesetter's Daughter" has now become my favorite of Amy Tan's novels, and I just moments ago finished it and passed it along to my own mother telling her that she "MUST read this book right away!" I'd like to extend the same recommendation to everyone else who is considering taking up "The Bonesetter's Daughter" as well. Luyi--*all that you wish*