MMGM- The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli and Greeking Out

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Glaser, Karina Yan. The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli

September 16, 2025 by Allida

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In alternating timelines, we get two stories; that of Han Yu's journey from Chang'An to Tianshui in 731 when his merchant father is unable to make a delivery because of a widespread contagious respiratory infection, and Luli Lee who is living in New York City with her parents, who run a restaurant and apartment building where her best friend Sam's father has the Silk Road Gift Shop.

Han Yu feels that his only skill is making steamed dumplings, but when the chance presents itself, he undertakes a treacherous journey to secure his family's finances. He buys an abused camel, Lotus, and is also accompanied by a stray dog, Lok. After being scammed out of some of his money, he runs into Du Fu, who helps him after his cart cracks. Han Yu has a reputation as a Tiger Boy, because he seems to be able to communicate with animals. When he finally delivers the goods and gets paid, he buys a small quantity of silk to take back home. He tries to locate healing grasses to take back to his family, and is eventually successful. Du Fu, who writes many beautiful poems, decorates the silks that Han Yu has with his work. 

Luli's family is in danger of losing their livlihood because of the Great Depression. No one is eating out, or buying things at the gift shop. The mother goes to work sewing garments, and the restaurant is eventually closed down. Luli, who has been attending Catholic school, is appalled that her parents are spending $5 a month to send her, and quits school. She and Sam sell steamed dumplings to try to raise funds, and the mortgage is barely paid each month. While still in school, her class has visited the art museum, where she sees ancient Tang Dynasty scrolls that look a lot like ones her family has. An art dealer looks at them, and criminals target the family. Luli gets a reward for apprehending one of them, which saves the building for another month, and when the silks turn out to be the work of Du Fu, the museum buys them for $6,000, and the Lees are secure in their possession of the building. 

There are sources and notes at the end of the book. I'm not a huge fan of going back and forth in time, but it's interesting to see the connection between Han Yu and Luli. This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Park's A Single Shard, the Compestines' Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier, or Zhang's The Emperor's Riddle. 

Curtis, Kenny Curtis, Hughes, Jillian, and Espila, Javier (illustrator)
Greeking Out Tales from the Underworld: Ghostly Myths from Around the Globe
October 7, 2025 by National Geographic Kids 
Copy provided by the Publisher

There is something appealing about Greek mythology in particular, and interest in this topic seems to peak in middle school, about the time that Ancient Greece and Rome are part of the social studies curriculum. Greeking Out does a great job of luring readers in with familiar stories about characters such as Theseus, Zeus, Odysseus, and Artemis, and interspersing their tales with less familiar ones. Loki from Norse mythology and Isis and Osiris from Egyptian mythology make appearances, as do Sidapa from Philippine traditions, Quetzalcoatl from Aztec stories, and even Gilgamesh, a Mesopotamian character who is vastly underrated.

This is the third book in this National Geographic series that also includes retellings of Greek myths as well as a volume concentrating on heroes and Olympians. This starts with an explanatory notes about why we are drawn to stories of death, and even issues a warning to parents that because of themes and some gruesome details, more sensitive readers might require supervision. Middle school readers are definitely drawn to dark topics, because it makes their own lives seem less horrible. Mythology is often used to explain situations that didn't make sense to ancient people, and death is still a topic that makes little sense to many.

There is a lot of information on each page, and also a lot of illustrations and background pictures. Nationals Geographic has a huge library of quality images, so there are photographs along the Espila's comic style illustrations. There are some sidebars with additional information supporting the text, with definitions, historical context, and explanations of side characters. In between the stories there are some two page spreads about other related topics, like the process of mummification or an article on "Putting the FUN Back in Funeral". This is rather text dense, so more suited to slightly older readers than early elementary ones.

The inclusion of a glossary of terms, world map, and an index is much appreciated.

There are lots of options for mythology books, but this would be at the top of my list, given the vast array of information presented. Add this to your scroll of ancient mythology related titles that includes the Greenbergs' Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War, Cooke, Fitzpatrick, and Moon's Oh My Gods! graphic novels, Sekaninova's Magical Museum: Ancient Egypt, Marx and Prabhat's Hide and Seek History: Ancient Greece, and Napoli's Tales from the Arabian Nights.