ARA Review by Sarah Jefferies of Adventure Over Thunder Mountain

[Sarah Jefferies]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Adventure Over Thunder Mountain.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Adventure Over Thunder Mountain by M.M.Elmendorf Hopson is a beautifully illustrated children’s story. The two central characters, Sumi and Mei, live with their Mama and Baba in an idyllic pastoral village surrounded by a wider family network of Ah-Yis and Shu-shus, Ah-gongs and Ah-mas. They play with their cousins and other children in the fields, forests and streams of the valley in which they live.

Conflict is introduced into the story with the presence of Thunder Mountain, at the entrance to the valley and dominating the village. Rumbles of thunder emanate from the mountain and it is shrouded in gloomy clouds which deter villagers from penetrating beyond the bamboo forests that surround it or from climbing its slopes. A train circumnavigates the foot of the mountain to the large town on the other side and to the hospital in this town the girls’ Mama and Baba go for Mama is unwell.

After some time living with various Ah-yis and Shu-shus the girls, missing their parents, decide to travel over Thunder Mountain to find them. Upon their journey they experience fear and wonder and meet a panoply of mythical characters.

The book is well-written and edited. The sense of an alternative culture is nicely referenced in familial name usage and a formality in the language and sentence structure. If there is a criticism it is that there could be more illustrations. The end of the book has a number of activities for readers to engage in which adds an interesting extra dimension to the book.

The author is conversant with myth and saga and incorporates elements of the hero’s journey into her narrative, communicating depth and historic integrity to her tale. This book would be enjoyed by children as a bedside tale. I give it five stars out of five.

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