Starry River of the Sky

“She had brought no cart for him to hide in, but she had brought stories.”

Rendi arrives in the small Village of Clear Sky as a stowaway in a merchant cart. After being turned out by the merchant, he is taken in by an inn-keeper, Master Chao. Alongside Master Chao’s daughter Peiyi, he works as a chore boy at the empty inn. Soon after arriving Rendi notices that the moon seems to be missing. Is he the only one that notices? He also begins to hear a loud moaning at night. Is he the only one that hears it? The arrival of a mysterious lady with a gift for storytelling changes Rendi and the villagers and he begins to find the answers to his story.

Grace Lin’s Starry River of the Sky is a wonderfully entertaining tale of forgiveness and home inspired by the Chinese myths she read as a child. It is also a companion to her book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. It is a fantasy full of magical characters that highlight the importance of storytelling in our lives. Lin also includes beautiful illustrations throughout the book.