Louise Rankin

Daughter Of The Mountains is a great read aloud for students in fourth grade and up. I think it has wide appeal for the impressionable young minds who like adventure and need a victorious outcome. Additionally, both the author and illustrator contribute detailed first hand experineces of the pass, having actually lived there.

The young girl Momo embarks on a life changing journey when her most prized poession was stolen; Pempa her dog from Lhasa. A lone traveler and trader steals Momo's precious friend while on route from the Jelep La pass of Tibet to Calcutta, India. The beauty in the story comes from the development of Momo's jouney; she sets off on the only pass which will lead her from the high mountains of Tibet all the way to Calcutta's coast. The danger, the perils will be worth it if she can get back her dog.

The author reveals Momo's strong character and her family's devoted faith as she navigates through the difficulties of the pass. Simultaneously, Rankin allows the natural beauty of the landscape and terrain to become appearant in Momo's appreciation of it. With outstanding illustrations and detailed descriptioins of the mountain pass, one can feel as if they were there; seeing and hearing the life it offers.

This would be a nice story to realoud just because it is a nice old story, written in 1948. As the story unfolds, the customs and traditions of two cultures will surface on occasion. It has all the elements of a classic story and the pace seems to be right for middle elementary students. Of course a lesson in georgraphy and some background history would help to authenticate this faraway place. If upper middle school students read this, it would be worth while to examine the British colonization of India and freedom they eventually found.… (mais)