Ming Lo Moves the Mountain

Arnold Lobel's warm, sweet illustrations and story are a fun read-aloud. Children enjoy the silliness and knowing what the magic dance really is. Second graders were able to articulate the philosophical concept of if you are unhappy, and nothing else works, maybe you need to change something about yourself. This was read during a unit on ancient China, but it would also be a good book for an author study or writing to emulate. ( )

Ming Lo is asked by his wife to move the mountain because they love their house so much, he is told by the wise man to do many things, the last being to move his house.

Ming Lo and his wife lived by a mountain. The mountain caused them a lot of trouble and his wife asked him to ask the wise man how to move the mountain. The wise man told him silly ways to move the mountain, which did not work. The last thing he told them was to pick up all their belongings and dance backwards. The ended up far away from the mountain and were happy.

Ming Lo and his wife built a house at the bottom of a mountain but everything disturbed their house, like the rocks, and the rain, and the shadows from the mountain. Ming Lo went to the man in the village to ask how to move the mountain, but none of the advice worked. Finally the man told Ming Lo and his wife to pick up all their belongings and do a dance and set their belongings back down and rebuild their house. When they did the dance and rebuilt their house they noticed that the mountain had finally moved, although thats what they thought, but little did they know by doing the dance they had really moved away from the mountain.

This is an upper level read also. It is a story of a husband and wife that want to move the mountain because they are unhappy where they live.