A Single Shard [Paperback]

Linda Sue Park (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Tree-ear is an orphan boy in a 12th-century Korean potters’ village. When he accidentally breaks a pot, he must work for the master to pay for the damage by setting off on a difficult and dangerous journey that will change his life forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Park (Seesaw Girl) molds a moving tribute to perseverance and creativity in this finely etched novel set in mid- to late 12th-century Korea. In Ch'ul'po, a potter's village, Crane-man (so called because of one shriveled leg) raises 10-year-old orphan Tree Ear (named for a mushroom that grows "without benefit of "parent-seed"). Though the pair reside under a bridge, surviving on cast-off rubbish and fallen grains of rice, they believe "stealing and begging... made a man no better than a dog." From afar, Tree Ear admires the work of the potters until he accidentally destroys a piece by Min, the most talented of the town's craftsmen, and pays his debt in servitude for nine days. Park convincingly conveys how a community of artists works (chopping wood for a communal kiln, cutting clay to be thrown, etc.) and effectively builds the relationships between characters through their actions (e.g., Tree Ear hides half his lunch each day for Crane-man, and Min's soft-hearted wife surreptitiously fills the bowl). She charts Tree Ear's transformation from apprentice to artist and portrays his selflessness during a pilgrimage to Songdo to show Min's work to the royal court he faithfully continues even after robbers shatter the work and he has only a single shard to show. Readers will not soon forget these characters or their sacrifices. Ages 10-14.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Linda Sue Park's 2002 Newbery Award-winning story (Clarion, 2001) about Tree-ear, a 12th century Korean orphan who finds his future through his intuitive interest in the potter's trade, is nicely rendered by Graeme Malcolm. Tree-ear's early years have been spent in the care of the homeless but inventive Crane-man, who has taught him to find a meal among what other villagers have rejected as scrap and shelter beneath a bridge or in an old kimchee cellar, as the season dictates. Now about 12 years old, Tree-ear extends his social and labor habits to an elderly and idiosyncratic potter, first because Tree-ear must repay Min for a pot he damaged when he touched it without permission, and then as Min's helper, a job for which he is paid in food and the motherly affection of Min's wife. In a village renowned for its pottery, those in the trade eagerly anticipate a visit from the representative of the Korean court, each potter hoping that his designs will be selected for royal use. Tree-ear discovers a rival potter's invention of a new surface design technique that he knows Min could use to better effect than does the inventor. Eventually, the technique is revealed and Min is able to adapt it to his excellent work, sending Tree-ear on a long and dangerous journey to court with two sample pieces. By the time Tree-ear arrives, he has but a single shard to show the court's pottery expert. Malcolm's light British accent is clear and adds a sense of "another place, another time" to this tale. However, many of the issues transcend centuries and cultures: What is home? Can one own a creative idea? How much of an art object must be seen in order to judge its quality? This book will engage both individual readers and discussion groups; the audio version makes it accessible to a broader audience, while giving style and substance to those who have read the print version.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (February 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440418518
• ISBN-13: 978-0440418511
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.5 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (169 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #266,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Sue Park is the author of the Newbery Medal book A Single Shard, many other novels, several picture books, and most recently a book of poetry: Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems). She lives in Rochester, New York, with her family, and is now a devoted fan of the New York Mets. For more infromation visit www.lspark.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

102 of 109 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Twist on Familiar Orphan Story, January 22, 2002

By 

"50cent-haircut" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Single Shard (Newbery Medal Book) (Hardcover)

As a Korean person, I'm quite familiar with the orphan story tradition that exists in Korean culture and literature. When I was a kid, my parents told me they picked me up under a bridge when they wanted to chide me for some mischief, and I used to cry. It may sound strange to westerners, but the 'orphan under a bridge' is a familiar archetypal story that's been passed on through generations through oral storytelling as well as narrative ones. Korea is a country that's been through countless attacks and subjugations by other countries and empires, and the possibility that a child could suffer the plight of being an 'orphan under the bridge' strikes a particular chord of fear and pity for the Koreans.

Linda Sue Park does a fabulous job of taking this traditional Korean story module as a catalyst for a well-developed tale of triumph of a boy who shouldn't have overcome the odds but did. Placing the protagonist boy in 12th century Korea was a shrewd move, as it was the era when Korean art was deemed to be in its apex, especially its pottery. As we follow Tree Ear, the hero of the book, trying to overcome many obstacles to become the master potter, we also become aware of the rich culture and tradition of an exotic land.

It's a tribute to Ms. Park that she does this without sentimentalizing and 'orientalising' the world that she depicts. (Although I question the translation of the boy's name into 'Tree Ear', a la Amy Tan) We only get a deeply moving tale, a bildungsroman of a boy who came into his own despite the odds. It's a common story structure, but it works unfailingly through Ms. Park's convincing and inspired narrative and the previously uncharted terrain of 12th century Korea. Very well done. Get this book for your kids but steal it away from them at night when they're sleeping and read it yourself.

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Place; Another Time, June 16, 2002

By 

Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Single Shard (Newbery Medal Book) (Hardcover)

A short time ago I wrote about how I find the Booker Prize to be one of the few awards that consistently recognizes truly excellent books. The other award that I think does as well is the Newbery Medal. As always, there is varying quality even among the winners of this award but I found this book to be one of the best of the best.

First of all, I always appreciate books that take me to places I've never been. Certainly, this story of twelfth century Korea does that. Additionally, it describes various processes of pottery-making, something else with which I was not very familiar.

Most importantly, however, this is a story filled with wonderful characters. Tree-ear is an orphan who lives beneath a bridge with an old man named Crane-man. Slowly, Tree-ear works his way into the family of a master potter, Min & his wife, by doing work which the old potter now finds difficult. Ultimately, Tree-ear is sent on a long journey to the capital with a sample of Min's work to obtain a royal commission but, when the samples are destroyed along the way, he can only take a shard of the former pottery to the commissioner.

This is a beautiful story which is well worth reading--and that includes any "adults" who might be reading this. Remember, if you can't read a "children's book" and enjoy it, then your child should probably not be reading it either.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ribbons - A Single Shard, March 28, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Single Shard (Paperback)

There is a boy named Tree-ear who is best friends with a man named Crane-man. They together live under a bridge on the outer edge of the village near the forest where he watches master potter Min creating beautiful pieces of pottery. He wishes to become like Min and so becomes Min's apprentice. After a long time of just being apprentice, Min sends Tree-ear on a very important journey to the kings court to deliever pottery. When Tree-ear returns, he finds Crane-man has passed away and Min decides to take him in as his adoptive son. I also like this part of the book because this is when Min realizes how he really missed having a child to love and look after, after the passing on of his young son. He finally realizes that he should take in Tree-ear as his own.

I liked this book a lot because it talked of the korean culture in a way that everyone could understand. Also it struck me very deep at heart when Tree-ear, finally coming within a hairs breath of fulfilling his dreams finds out that his closest friend who helped him get there, Crane-man has passed on. I also like this book because of the great detail it goes into to describe the procedures for making pottery. This book takes you so smoothly through different emotions that you won't even know when your crying or laughing, you'll just know that your having a good time reading the book.

My favorite part of the book is when Tree-ear returns to find that Crane-man has passed on, and Master Min tells Tree-ear that Crane-man would not let go of the mini monkey he made. I think its very touching to know that even when you greatest friend and family is not forgetting you even at the verge of death and after they have passed on.