A Single Shard

Written by Janine Brill, 8th Grade ELA and Science, 7th and 8th Grade U.S. History, Mary Queen of Apostles School, New Kensington, PA
A Single Shard, written by award-winning author Linda Sue Park, tells the story of Tree-ear, a homeless orphan boy living in a potters' village during twelfth-century Korea. Tree-ear is befriended by Crane-man, a homeless elderly man whose leg disability forced him to sell all of his earthly possessions. Tree-ear exemplifies a person who greatly admires and respects his elders, and aims to please each person in his life. In doing so, he gradually gains more confidence in himself and gains respect from others. Tree-ear literally crosses rough terrain and evades personal injury from robbers to ensure that his master potter will secure a commission from the royal court. Through his perseverance, passion, and persistence, Tree-ear is able to pursue his dream of becoming a potter. According to Crane-man, "Scholars read the great words of the world. But you and I must learn to read the world itself." And in learning to read the world, Tree-ear realizes his dream becomes reality
Linda Sue Park poignantly describes how Korean celadon pottery is crafted: collecting and washing clay, gathering specific wood for kiln fires, timing of the potter's wheel, and the carvings and inlays in each product. With great skill and patience, a beautiful and noteworthy piece can be crafted over time, and perhaps last for centuries.
This novel would be ideal for grades six through eight. The artistic content would integrate well with an art class in which a specific project requires minute details over time. Book excerpts regarding celadon pottery techniques could be read aloud while viewing photographs and other images on Korean celadon pottery. For English Language Arts, students could write a narrative essay about perseverance and courage, or an analytical paper on a historical figure whose perseverance and courage greatly impacted society.

My name is Julie Yankovich. I teach art to grades seven through twelve at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Connellsville, Pa. I chose to read A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park.
A Single Shard is a book about an orphan named Tree-ear. The story takes place in the mid-to late twelfth century. He lives under a bridge, in a small pottery village called Ch’ulp’o, on the west coast of Korea. He lives with a disabled man named Crane-man, who has taken care of Tree-ear as long as he can remember. He lives with Crane-man because his parents died when he was young of a fever. At this time in Korean society, anybody that was orphaned or homeless would live with family, or if you had no family, the monks at the temple would take care of you. The monk’s temple was ripe with fever, so the villagers suggested that Tree-ear would live with Crane-man under the bridge until the outbreak ended. When the outbreak of fever ended in the temple on the mountainside, the monk came back to retrieve Tree-ear. Tree-ear clung to Crane-man and the monk left him there.
When Tree-ear foraged for food, he often watched the master potter Min work on his wheel. Tree-ear was a very curious boy who snuck into the potter’s studio. He picked up pieces of pottery to get a closer look. He dropped a pot after being startled. The potter caught Tree-ear and thought he was a thief. Tree-ear explained to Min that he just went inside the studio to admire Min’s work. Min was terribly angry. After some conversation, Min agreed to have Tree-ear work for him to pay back what was broken. Once his debt was paid, he begged for a job to work at Min’s studio. After a year and a half of working for Min, he journeyed to the palace with two of Min’s pottery pieces. Min had hoped to get a royal commission. Tree-ear encounters a major bump on the road to Songdo to meet Emissary Kim. This journey to the palace changes Tree-ear’s life.
I would recommend introducing this book in an art class for grades seven, eight or nine. The book could be assigned over a long break for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter as it is an easy read. The book is full of life lessons, almost every situation that Tree-ear encountered he learned something. Students could write about sections of the book that spoke about patience, honesty, or hope. They could compare things that require patience, honesty, and hope in their own life.
During class time, students could research traditional Japanese flowers like those created on Min and Kang’s pottery. Students could make a pinch pot or even create a coil pot. The students will create four sketches of their best ideas. The teacher and the student will go over their ideas together to choose the best one. Students will then carve the flowers into their pot. Once the pot has been in the kiln, they can glaze it using colors found in nature.

Mary Martin
6-12th grade
Visual Arts
Winchester Thurston School
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is about the journey of an orphaned boy who seeks a sense of place and self-worth. He looks to find both from two local sources: one is a generous homeless amputee that teaches him compassion, courage and morality, while the other is an obsessive master potter that teaches him obligation, humility, and perseverance. Tree-ear’s path of discovery begins with him from paying a debt with 9 days of manual labor and ultimately leads to far more than he ever imagined. During the course of the book, Tree-ear physically experiences each of the four seasons of nature by living & working in nature. The seasons are manifested psychologically through human interactions with Crane-man (his guardian), Min the potter, and Min’s wife. He experiences harsh blistering conditions while repaying his debt to Min, the ill-tempered potter. There are hopeful signs of spring blossoms through his transformative experiences moving him from an unfortunate orphan to a resourceful young apprentice. Like autumn leaves, he experiences self-transformation as he faces his fears while journeying to deliver Min’s artwork. Like the intensity of summer heat, he also confronts emotional loss and drama. As a high school art teacher, I feel that my students will be able to relate to Tree-ear’s journey as a youth, as well as to the multiple ceramic references that bring deeper meaning to traditional Korean clay forms studied in class. My intention is to incorporate the various authentic artworks into a series of lessons on traditional Korean pottery techniques using handbuilding and wheel throwing techniques. Students will explore using colored slips with inlays, incising, sculpting, and glazing with celadon glaze.
A traditional 12th century Korean pottery village is the book’s backdrop, but I prefer to see this as the foreground—it truly depending on the reader’s point of reference. This focal point sets the stage for a myriad of authentic clay experiences that any ceramic student would appreciate. I’m thrilled to finally read a book that highlights the intricacies of the potter’s daily work! With much finesse, Park’s book incorporates and references authentic Korean museum artifacts by using them as key characters throughout her book. Here, literary arts are inspired by visual art. The book also provides key explanations on how closely nature informs Korean pottery. She skillfully emphasizes the importance of location when explaining where raw clay materials are gathered, where the ceramic pieces were produced, what techniques were used, where they were fired, who supported their production without losing connections with the main character’s overall development, and where they were finally utilized. Like the celadon pottery of the times, this well-crafted piece of fiction has subtle nuances that quietly remind us of the natural world’s significant role in relation to man. Like the highly prized traditional incised celadon ceramic works, the writing skillfully scratches beneath the surface of the life of an orphaned boy seeking guidance from different sources.

Jeremy Mangan
Book Review
January 10, 2016
A Single Shard
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is a novel about a boy named Tree-ear, who is an orphan and lives under a bridge with a homeless, disabled man named Crane-man. Throughout the book we come to learn that Tree-ear is fascinated with the potters in his village. He is especially fond of one potter named Min, and often watches him work. One day Tree-ear goes into Min's yard to look at the work that he has drying in the sun. While Tree-ear is looking at the work, Min comes out and startles Tree-ear and sadly, he drops and breaks a box. To pay for the broken box, Tree-ear offers to work for Min for nine days. While working for Min, Tree-ear’s nine-day punishment gradually turns into an eighteen month internship. This internship changes both Tree-ear and Min's life when the king’s court commissions Min’s work.
After reading this book, I would have to say that this would be an excellent read for my fourth grade students. This novel not only transports its reader into the world of 12-century Korea but also tells the coming of age story of a young man on a mission to grow into something better that he feels he is. This text could be implemented as a read aloud, a book club book or as a cross-curricular text studied in both readers workshop and art class.

Mary Martin
6-12th grade
Visual Arts Instructor
Winchester Thurston School
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is about the journey of an orphaned boy who seeks a sense of place and self-worth. He looks to find both from two local sources: one is a generous homeless amputee that teaches him compassion, courage and morality, while the other is an obsessive master potter that teaches him obligation, humility, and perseverance. Tree-ear’s path of discovery begins with him from paying a debt with 9 days of manual labor and ultimately leads to far more than he ever imagined. During the course of the book, Tree-ear physically experiences each of the four seasons of nature by living & working in nature. The seasons are manifested psychologically through human interactions with Crane-man (his guardian), Min the potter, and Min’s wife. He experiences harsh blistering conditions while repaying his debt to Min, the ill-tempered potter. There are hopeful signs of spring blossoms through his transformative experiences moving him from an unfortunate orphan to a resourceful young apprentice. Like autumn leaves, he experiences self-transformation as he faces his fears while journeying to deliver Min’s artwork. Like the intensity of summer heat, he also confronts emotional loss and drama. As a high school art teacher, I feel that my students will be able to relate to Tree-ear’s journey as a youth, as well as to the multiple ceramic references that bring deeper meaning to traditional Korean clay forms studied in class. My intention is to incorporate the various authentic artworks into a series of lessons on traditional Korean pottery techniques using handbuilding and wheel throwing techniques. Students will explore using colored slips with inlays, incising, sculpting, and glazing with celadon glaze.
A traditional 12th century Korean pottery village is the book’s backdrop, but I prefer to see this as the foreground—it truly depending on the reader’s point of reference. This focal point sets the stage for a myriad of authentic clay experiences that any ceramic student would appreciate. I’m thrilled to finally read a book that highlights the intricacies of the potter’s daily work! With much finesse, Park’s book incorporates and references authentic Korean museum artifacts by using them as key characters throughout her book. Here, literary arts are inspired by visual art. The book also provides key explanations on how closely nature informs Korean pottery. She skillfully emphasizes the importance of location when explaining where raw clay materials are gathered, where the ceramic pieces were produced, what techniques were used, where they were fired, who supported their production without losing connections with the main character’s overall development, and where they were finally utilized. Like the celadon pottery of the times, this well-crafted piece of fiction has subtle nuances that quietly remind us of the natural world’s significant role in relation to man. Like the highly prized traditional incised celadon ceramic works, the writing skillfully scratches beneath the surface of the life of an orphaned boy seeking guidance from different sources.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.