Reference
Erin Diehl
A Single Shard would a great book to be read by fourth to twelfth grade students. In late elementary school it can be used to compare and contrast the Korean culture and the European cultures they are familiar with. This could be used easily in a reading class and a social studies class, even to the point it can be a collaborated effort between the two. It could be used in comparison with Oliver Twist, even though the time periods are a few centuries different. There are many differences as well as many similarities in the two texts.
This book goes through the life of a poor orphan, and how he survives with a disabled man, living in poverty. He knows he is ‘unnoticeable’ to the upper levels of society, so he watches people and becomes obsessed with an old potter, which leads a naturally curious boy to snooping around the potter’s house when he thinks no one is home. This leads to a travesty in which the boy needs to repay a debt, which he does, and then hopes to become an apprentice. It brings in other aspects of forgiveness, compassion, and leads to the acceptance of a young boy whose life completely changes after he makes a terrible mistake.
