Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

10.21.2016
FOR THE WEEKEND, share this fall themed title with your child! 

Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is appropriate for children of all ages.

Summary:
Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival from author and illustrator Grace Lin tells the story of a family’s celebration of the thanksgiving holiday for Chinese and many Asian peoples, the Moon Festival. Each member of the family lends a hand as they prepare a moonlit picnic with mooncakes, pomelos, cups of tea, and colorful lanterns. And everyone sends thanks and a secret wish up to the moon.

Practice this Comprehension Strategy-Sequencing:
Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is an excellent story to practice sequencing. Ask your child questions as you read to help solidify their interest in the story. Once you’ve finished reading, ask your child to tell you the order that events unfolded throughout the book. Did they set out the mooncakes before driving to their picnic? Did they make a wish to the moon after setting up the honoring table? By recalling the order that the events happened, your child will be furthering their connection to the text and deepening their engagement with the story.

Do this with your child:
The family in Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival prepares a wonderful midnight picnic to celebrate the Moon Festival. They make treats and decorations such as mooncakes and lanterns. You can make these too! Click here for a mooncake recipe and here for a link to a lantern craft.


If you’re interested in sharing Thanking the Moon: Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival with your child you can find it from Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House, here. Please like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Related Posts

06.16.2025 Tips

How to Start a Family Reading Routine That Sticks

Reading together as a family isn’t just a cozy bedtime activity—it’s one of the most powerful ways to support your child’s learning and emotional growth. But between busy schedules and screen distractions, how do you make reading a habit that lasts? At Raising a Reader, we’ve helped thousands of families build meaningful, consistent reading routines. Here’s how you can too. ...

Read More
06.13.2025 Announcement

Reading Together Isn’t About Perfection—It’s About Connection

Recent research from HarperCollins Publishers and Nielsen uncovered a sobering trend: only 41% of children ages 0–4 are frequently read to—a significant drop from 64% in 2012. Even more concerning, less than half of parents say they enjoy reading aloud to their children. As both a parent and the CEO of Raising a Reader, this hits home. Because I know what the research shows—and I also know ...

Read More