| Title | A Single Shard |
| Publication Type | Book |
| Year of Publication | 2001 |
| Authors | Park, Linda Sue |
| Number of Pages | 148 |
| Publisher | Clarion Books |
| City | New York |
| ISBN | 0-395-97827-0 (hardcover) |
| Abstract | 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. |
| URL | http://www.amazon.com/Single-Shard-Linda-Sue-Park/dp/0440418518/ |
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| Title | Attached Files | Contributed By | Contributed On | Link |
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Ceramics Unit for A Single Shard Unit for art teachers by Malia Bennett in two files, Trinity Area High School (Pittsburgh site) |
2 | Malia Bennett | 11/8/11 | |
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A Single Shard/summary and activities summary and a variety of activities for multiple grade levels |
1 | Katherine Hoffer | 9/29/10 |
Posted On: January 3, 2016
The book “A Single Shard” was excellent. I’ve read historical fiction in the past but this book seemed to have so much depth. Korean culture and Korean history are not my strengths but I found myself immersed in the culture, the time period, the language and the relationships. What a great lesson in perseverance and dignity.
Posted On: December 22, 2015
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park tells the story of a young orphaned Korean boy who finds friendship and purpose in his adolescent years. The main character, Tree-ear, is a thoughtful, polite, and respectful boy who lives under a bridge with an older disabled man named Crane-man. These characters develop a father/son relationship regardless of their odd circumstances and delight in the company of one another. As Tree-ear continues to learn and grow, he finds himself interested in watching a master potter at his craft. Tree-ear is a curious child and his curiosity gets him into some trouble with the master potter. In order to repay his debts, Tree-ear acts as a helper to the master potter. The time he spends helping the master potter turns out to be very valuable for Tree-ear. Not only does he find himself in a position of learning the master potter's craft, he also finds himself gaining a new family. Throughout the novel, Tree-ear learns about the importance of hard work, perseverance, managing impulsivity, and taking responsible risks.
I would recommend this book to teachers and students of later elementary school and perhaps early middle school.
Posted On: March 14, 2015
Set in the twelfth century, A Single Shard has many familiar elements in Korean culture. First, family which is the center of Korean society is evident in a two scenarios. Tree-ear is an orphan who live with Crane-man who is also alone in. life as an outcast from society Together they are a family taking care and looking out for each other. The second scenario is the potter Min and his wife who lost a son to fever. The potter Min was man of few words but created beautiful pottery from his wheel. Tree-ear knew of him and his work and spied on him for quite a while before getting caught in his workshop looking at Min's work. Min was upset that the boy was stealing from him, at least that was the way it looked. Because Tree-ear damaged a set of Min's boxes, he offered to work for him as payment for damaging the set of boxes. . Min of course, knew there was more to learning to be a potter than just sitting at the wheel so he started Tree-ear at the bottom; getting wood for the kiln. After Tree-ear paid back his nine days all in gathering wood for the kiln, he asked Min for the honor of working for him. The next step was to dig the clay for the potter. Gathering the wood and the clay were difficult tasks on the same rickety cart. The process of getting clay included straining it several times until it had the right amount of moisture for working on the wheel. Frustrated that after all this time, Min still hadn't shown him how to make pottery, Tree-ear confided in Crane-man who always had words of wisdom to live by.
Perseverance is one lesson learned by Tree-ear.Tree-ear and Crane-man struggle to provide enough to eat for each other and as winter approaches they know will have to leave their life under the bridge and go to the cave for shelter. Min's wife extends kindness to Tree-ear by offering him clothing that once belonged to their son. He shares pants with Crane-man and he wears the jacket. She also make sure he has food for his lunch as is custom for the potter to provide for the assistant. However, she make sure he has more than enough which he shares with Crane-man.
When the emissary comes to the village to visit the potters for a royal commission. Min's village was known for the potters and the celadon pottery they made from the nearby clay.Tree-ear must be patient with the slow and methodical pace of Min who is a perfectionist. After the first firing in the kiln produced inferior pottery. Min destroys all the pieces in frustration but then time has run out as the emissary is about to arrive. All that is left is a pile of shards from the pottery. Even only the shards Min's pottery is chosen and Tree-ear requested that he be the one to deliver the pottery when it is ready not knowing what would lie ahead for him since he never left the village and wasn't aware of what was on the other side of life.
With the wise words of his friend and confident Crane-man he was on his way with the pottery. Crane-man made him several pairs of new sandals and he even made the jiggeh that held the pottery.He sets out on an adventure that ends in disaster as he is robbed and the pottery and the jiggeh are destroyed. Although he thought of turning back or even just jumping off the mountain, he works through his disappointment and combs through the broken pieces finally picking a single shard to take to the emissary.Through his courage and perseverance Tree-ear's single shard is accepted by the emissary and Min receives the royal commission.
While he is on his long trip, Min and his wife offer to have Crane-man continue Tree-ear's work -meanwhile he is away. It was comforting to Tree-ear knowing that Crane-man would well fed while he was away. Disaster struck again unknowingly to Tree-ear when Crane-man died while he was away. Upon his return Min and his wife asked Tree-ear to live with them. Min wants wood, more wood and Tree-ear is confused. This time he wants logs - large logs. Usually Tree-ear has to chop the wood but the logs this time were for a wheel of his own.
Posted On: January 5, 2015
"Scholars read the great words of the world. But you and I must learn to read the world itself"? This quote from the story A Single Shard is evident in the events throughout the whole story.
The story of a young boy, Tree-ear, orphaned since he was a toddler and living with a homeless disabled man named Crane-man is set in 12th Century Korea. Throughout the story both Tree-ear and Crane-man learn to “read the world”. I found the book a delightful, inspiring read. The friendship of Crane-man and Tree-ear was endearing. A relationship built on trust and filled with honor and integrity takes the characters on a journey of respect and genuine caring for each other.
In an opening event in the story Tree-ear finds himself in a quandary. He briefly “reads the world” in a “should I, or shouldn’t I” struggle with self-preservation. Scavenging for food one day, Tree-ear sees a man carrying a large bundle of rice. The rice was slowly trickling out of his container. Tree-ear was wavering..do I tell him, or wait and pick up the rice for my own. As he watched the man, Tree-ear decides to tell him, and was then rewarded. The man asked him to help repair his bundle, and then tells Tree-ear to gather the rice…because “good deserves good.” Tree-ear, having read the man correctly remained worthy of Crane-man’s respect by holding his words true…“Work gives man dignity, stealing takes it away.”
As time passes, Tree-ear finds himself enamored by the potters of his village. He begins watching one in particular in secret. A mishap has him working for the potter in exchange for food, which he secretly takes home each night to share with Crane-man at their under the bridge shelter. Tree-ear longs to be taught how to work the potter’s wheel, but the aging master potter has him do all the physically demanding chores. As he works, he gets small tell-tale signs of respect from the potter. The story (bringing truth to the fiction) unfolds in the time of potters creating fine work for the King. Tree-ear is given the task of taking his master potter’s work to the King’s Court. It turns out to be an arduous journey and one that changes his life forever.
Posted On: December 22, 2014
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
"Scholars read the great words of the world. But you and I must learn to read the world itself"? This quote from the story A Single Shard is evident in the events throughout the whole story.
The story of a young boy, Tree-ear, orphaned since he was a toddler and living with a homeless disabled man named Crane-man is set in 12th Century Korea. Throughout the story both Tree-ear and Crane-man learn to “read the world”. I found the book a delightful, inspiring read. The friendship of Crane-man and Tree-ear was endearing. A relationship built on trust and filled with honor and integrity takes the characters on a journey of respect and genuine caring for each other.
In an opening event in the story Tree-ear finds himself in a quandary. He briefly “reads the world” in a “should I, or shouldn’t I” struggle with self-preservation. Scavenging for food one day, Tree-ear sees a man carrying a large bundle of rice. The rice was slowly trickling out of his container. Tree-ear was wavering..do I tell him, or wait and pick up the rice for my own. As he watched the man, Tree-ear decides to tell him, and was then rewarded. The man asked him to help repair his bundle, and then tells Tree-ear to gather the rice…because “good deserves good.” Tree-ear, having read the man correctly remained worthy of Crane-man’s respect by holding his words true…“Work gives man dignity, stealing takes it away.”
As time passes, Tree-ear finds himself enamored by the potters of his village. He begins watching one in particular in secret. A mishap has him working for the potter in exchange for food, which he secretly takes home each night to share with Crane-man at their under the bridge shelter. Tree-ear longs to be taught how to work the potter’s wheel, but the aging master potter has him do all the physically demanding chores. As he works, he gets small tell-tale signs of respect from the potter. The story (bringing truth to the fiction) unfolds in the time of potters creating fine work for the King. Tree-ear is given the task of taking his master potter’s work to the King’s Court. It turns out to be an arduous journey and one that changes his life forever.