A Single Shard

                                                                                             

Title:   A Single Shard                                 

Author:  Linda Sue Park              Copyright Date: 2001

Genre:  Realistic Fiction              Pages of Book: 152 Pages
Publisher: Scholastic                   Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Summary:   Tree-ear and his friend and guardian Crane-man live most of the year under a bridge in a Korean potter village during the 12^th century.  They find the food they need to exist by scrounging through garbages or gleaning farmer’s rice fields following the harvest.  The elderly Crane-man has only one good leg and must use a crutch to get around, therefore is limited in what he can do physically, but his wisdom gives  12 year-old Tree-ear a wonderful philosophy of life.  Tree-ear has been secretly watching one of the master potters in the village make beautiful pots and vases on a potter’s wheel.  Tree-ear has a great desire to make a pot of his own.  One day his curiosity led him to touch and accidentally break one of the potter’s creations.  To make amends he offers to work for the potter to pay for his mistake.  The potter is gruff and moody, and requires ten days of back breaking work from the boy to pay the debt.  Tree-ear then asks the potter to allow him to continue to work for his, hoping that he would be allowed to learn to make pots.  The only payment that the potter gives him, however, is a meal each day.  Nevertheless, Tree-ear continues to serve the potter.  The potter’s wife recognizes the boy’s good work and becomes a kind friend to him and sends him home with enough food to feed both the boy and his friend, Crane-man.  One day it becomes known that the king’s emissary is coming to choose a potter to receive a commission to do pottery for the palace.  This is a great honor and all the potters in the village hope for the commission.  One of the potters in the village develops a new inlay technique that catches the emissary’s eye and receives a commission, even though his pots are not as outstanding quality.  With Tree-ear’s help, the potter figures out the inlay technique and adds it to his beautiful pots.  He does not get a perfect pot completed in time for the emissary to see, but is invited to send a sample to the palace when he does.  He finally completes two perfect pots and Tree-ear volunteers to deliver them to the palace,  making a treacherous journey that takes him many days.  On the way there, Tree-ear is attacked by robbers and to his horror the pots are broken.  He finds a single shard of one of the pots that shows the quality of the inlay and decides to take that single shard to the palace and hope for the best.  The emissary at the palace recognizes the superb quality of the potter’s work and sends word back with Tree-ear that the potter is to have a commission from the palace.  The joy of  delivering this news is washed away when he learns that while he was away his dear friend, Crane-man was drowned.  The potter and his kind wife recognize the good they have received from this unselfish boy and offer him a home and the opportunity to learn to make his own pots.  Eventually, this once homeless boy creates the most prized pottery in all Korea.

Reaction:  This book was a quiet and mostly peaceful story.  I enjoyed learning about a different culture and appreciated the author’s efforts to use facts about pottery and Korean culture throughout the story.  The story teaches about the values of persistence, loyalty, and hard work.  I think doing some art projects suck as simple pottery or paper cranes as this story is read would be a good idea. 

Problems:  The first problem presented in this book is Crane-man’s and Tree-ear’s struggle to just survive.  Tree-ear also has to learn loyalty and patience when the potter is not kind to him and refuses to let him make his own pottery.  The potter struggles with grief from his past and has to learn to let go of that grief and offer love to this boy who has served him.

Recommendation:  I would recommend this book to older elementary aged children.  It gives good view of a different culture.  It wasn’t an action-packed story, but has good lessons on overcoming hardships.