A Single Shard

Review by NCTA teacher Ciminy St.Clair
K-4 Gifted
Norwin School District- Sheridan Terrace Elementary
A Review of A Single Shard
Appropriate Grades 4-6
I reviewed A Single Shard. The book would be appropriate for students grades 4-6. The book discusses a young orphaned boy who was dealt a rough life ahead of him. However, he made the best of his situation. He strived for more and was mentored by wise older man. He worked very hard to prove himself to a master potter. Ming worked long hours and was treated poorly but was not discouraged by his treatment. He learned morals and values along the way and learned he could do anything he put to mind to. In the end he succeeded only to see his mentor and friend die. I believe the kids could take valuable life lessons out of reading this book. Because my students are gifted many things come easily to them and hard work is often not needed. I feel my students could be humbled by the struggles this book presents and realize hard work is a valued quality.
I am going to require all of my fourth grade students read A Single Shard as part of a Westmoreland County Reading Competition. The students will read four books and participate in a various station activities themed around the books. For A Single Shard, the gifted students will create a haiku poem about the book. Creating a poem will allow the students to explore a creative outlet to express their knowledge about the book. Since the book covers many seasons and many emotions, the students’ expressive talents can shine.

A Single Shard is the story of homeless Tree-ear's adventure to become a accomplished potter. The book illustrates the caste system in 12th century Korea, and the struggle of a young boy who has no family to help him make his way. The author includes information in the back of the book about Celadon pottery, and why it was and is valued in Korea. The book could be used for 5th to 8th grades.

Michael-Ann Cerniglia
Grade 6 History Teacher (World Geography and Culture: Eastern Hemisphere)
Sewickley Academy
A Single Shard is a Newberry Award-winning novel, written by Linda Sue Park, which takes place in late 12th C Korea, in the sea-side pottery village of Ch’ulp’o. The main character, Tree-ear, is a 12 year old orphan who has been raised under a bridge by a poor, disabled man by the name of Crane-man. Tree-ear and Crane-man have very few possessions, make their own baskets and shoes, and live on soup made with small amounts of mushrooms and leaves that they find in the surrounding woods. As an orphan, Tree-ear is treated as a pariah, so he is largely ignored by the villagers. However, he capitalizes on this status by using his anonymity to observe the people of Ch’ulp’o, specifically the potters. Having identified the potter Min as the most talented, Tree-ear finds himself working for Min to pay off a debt. Tree-ear’s greatest dream is to one day learn to make pots as beautiful as Min’s, though his status precludes him from becoming an apprentice. Despite the social barriers, Tree-ear remains dedicated to Min and embarks on a treacherous journey to win him a royal commission. Along the way, Tree-ear loses the pottery to vandals and enters the court with only a single shard to represent Min’s skill and artistry.
This beautifully-written, though slow-paced, novel encapsulates many historic and cultural themes relevant to the English, world history, and arts classrooms. Students may need some encouragement to move through the beginning of the book, which takes it’s time developing the setting and characters (the reason for 4 stars, rather than 5). However, by the mid-point, the reader senses anticipation as the novel picks up to a rewarding, if predictable, climax and resolution. In English, literary themes such as elements of a novel, foreshadowing, and character development can be analyzed. A Single Shard also makes use of rich vocabulary, and much of it (i.e. Buddhism, celadon, monks) partners well with its historic and cultural themes. History teachers will be able to enhance students’ understanding of the novel by studying historic maps and the political landscape of 12th C Korea. Appreciating this time period as one in which celadon pottery flourished is also significant to understanding the novel. The Korean philosophies of Buddhism and Confucianism are also important concepts to develop before, or while, students read this book and the concept of a social hierarchy gives students the foundation for understanding the value of celadon during this time. The value of social status is also particularly significant to understanding Tree-ear’s position as an orphan. Additionally, the importance of rice is present throughout the book. Implementing the curriculum The Historic and Cultural Importance of Rice (Stanford University SPICE publication) would complement this theme. Finally, history and art teachers can collaborate to develop an understanding of how celadon was made in the 12th C, in comparison to how pottery is made today. Ideally, students should have the opportunity to view or participate in the creation of clay pots.

This beautifully written novel is set in a small village on the west coast of Korea during the 12th century. The story opens with two of the main characters, Tree-ear and Crane-man, sharing a joke based on a traditional Korean greeting of the time, which immediately pulls the reader into experiencing the Korean culture. The reader follows 10 year old orphan Tree-ear as he journeys toward his dream of becoming a potter. He begins working for Min, a master potter, to pay back the damages incurred when Tree-ear accidentally breaks a piece of Min's pottery. After his debt is paid, Tree-ear remains on working for Min in the hopes of fulfilling his dream. As Tree-ear learns the steps required to make celadon pottery, so does the reader. There are happy, hopeful times, as well as sad, tense times. Courage, perseverance, artistic skill, caring for others, supporting others in their efforts, and striving towards your goals are all demonstrated in this novel and teachers can develop lessons based on these topics.
The main characters: Tree-ear, Crane-man-the crippled homeless man with whom Tree-ear "lives"; Min-the Master potter; Ajima-Min's wife, who is very kind to Tree-ear and eventually provides him with a home and a new name, are strong and well-written. The teacher can build lessons around each of them. It would be interesting to have students create and perform skits based on scenes from the novel. They could also write poems, or develop biographies for each character. As a Music teacher, I would use the idea of apprenticeship in my classroom. The idea of apprenticeship relates to the manner in which a person learns to become a Master drummer in some cultures--or for that matter, learns to play any instrument--through instruction with a Master player. This novel is used in our Middle School Language Arts classes and I feel it is very appropriate for Middle School readers. It could also be successfully used in upper elementary grades.
Review by Lee Ann Conover
Falk Laboratory School
Music K-8

Review by: Carla Garfield
Rating: 5.Edit Your Review
Review:
Carla Garfield
Grade 6 English teacher
Sewickley Academy
Set in “a small village on the west coast of Korea, mid-to late twelfth century” (thank you, Linda Sue Park, for telling us, rather than making us guess), this is a charming story from a culture and a time period students are rarely exposed to. A Single Shard tells the story of Tree-ear, a 12 year old orphan boy who lives under the bridge with his protector and mentor, Crane Man. Though they scavenge for their food and shelter and have only each other for companionship and comfort, Tree-ear and Crane Man lead lives of tidy dignity and communion with nature in the seaside village of Chulp’o. Crane Man, who has cared for Tree-ear since he was orphaned as a toddler, imparts to Tree-ear timeless lessons in honesty, self-reliance, and honor.
Tree-ear finds beauty in his bleak existence by surreptitiously watching the crotchety potter, Min, create celadon pottery of the finest quality. When Tree-ear accidentally damages one of Min’s pots, he works off the value of the pot cutting firewood and digging clay. Tree-ear hopes to learn to create pottery of his own, but Min rejects any notion of apprenticeship, until Tree-ear proves himself in an difficult odyssey to procure for the potter the work and renown he deserves.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book myself, but I wondered if the pace was a bit slow for my students. When I held the book up in our (at the time, all girl) book club, though, and asked if anyone had read it, several girls squealed in delight, “I loved that book!” They appreciated a departure from the standard middle school fare as much as, if not more than, I did, and were pleased to learn something new about a faraway culture and skill. We all appreciated the fine, descriptive writing and characterization.
Some suggestions for how to use A Single Shard in the classroom:
• As a vocabulary builder: shard, apprentice, shriveled, monk, earthenware, sluggardly, kiln, glaze, placid, rifle (through), culinary, vigilance, arduous, emissary, incising, commission, vessel
• As an economics lesson. A Single Shard can be used to illustrate concepts of supply, demand, wants, needs, goods, services, labor, apprenticeship.
• I strongly suggest that students read, or have read to them, portions of “Japanese Folkcraft Pottery Apprenticeship: Cultural Patterns of an Educational Institution” by John Singleton from Apprenticeship from Theory to Method and Back Again, edited by Michael W. Coy. Though it’s about Japanese apprenticeship, students will be able to make connections to A Single Shard, chapter 9, where Tree-ear asks Crane Man, “The potter’s trade passes from father to son here in Ch’ulp’o. Is it thus everywhere?” “A story tells the answer to that,” Crane Man replies, and proceeds to tell an illustrative story about the history of pottery and families in Korea.
• As an art lesson. This would be a good opportunity to incorporate Korean-style watercolor work to illustrate the countryside Tree-ear crosses during his trip to meet the emissary. And, needless to say, I think it’s virtually required that at least one pottery lesson be incorporated into this unit – a great opportunity for some interdisciplinary teaching with the art department. It’s also critical that students have access to images of celadon; the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has a great collection online.
• Naming. At least one lesson should be on how Tree-ear and Crane Man received their names, and how students can use the same technique to create new names for themselves and their classmates that match their attributes.
• History and geography. Chart Tree-ear’s path on a map. Examine the historical context for Tree-ear’s story. What is the history of celadon in Korea? Why was it so popular and valued? Fortunately, Linda Sue Park includes a postscript, “What’s So Special About Celadon?” that helps explain its importance.
• Cooking. How could we leave this novel without a lesson in kimchee?
Yearling Books puts A Single Shard at a 6.2 reading level, but some of my better readers enjoyed and understood this book in fifth grade. In a unit about Korean history, you could stretch it through eighth grade, especially since it's a Newbery winner.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is a John Newberry award winning novel and a delightful read. Ms. Park writes in a beautiful, clear style that remains true to the story as well as the historical context in which it is set. The story tells of a young orphan boy, named Tree-ear, in 12th century Korea who lives under a bridge with a caretaker named Crane-man. Tree-ear becomes fascinated with the celadon pottery making of a master potter, Min, in the village. Celadon is a special type of glazed stoneware that has been produced throughout eastern Asia for centuries and admired for its soft green, translucent color, decorative designs and inlay work and fine glazing. The story unfolds as Tree-ear goes to work for the master potter, first as a day laborer and eventually as an apprentice.
The culture and social norms of 12th century Korea comes alive through this story as Ms. Park stays true for the most part, to historical traditions of apprenticeship and the pottery making craft of the era. At first read, it seems that Min, the master potter, treats Tree-ear rather severely, particularly early on. It would be important for the teacher to set the context for the class by explaining how apprenticeships worked in 12th century eastern Asia. Apprentices were expected to do menial work during the first year(s) of their training and were to observe the craft making unobtrusively in between chores. Only after more than a year is an apprentice even considered to be able to begin working with the clay and learning to throw using the pottery wheel. The seemingly harsh treatment by Min is actually true to the apprenticeship tradition and Korean culture of the time. Information about east Asian apprenticeships can be found in the article by Michael W. Coy ed., Apprenticeship: From Theory to Method and Back Again, Albany: SUNY Press, 1989.
I would recommend this book for later elementary (4th and 5th grades) and early middle school classes (6th grade). The Reading Level, according to Yearling, is 6.2. Clearly 4th and 5th grade students would be able to read it in conjunction with classroom instruction for understanding the cultural context and specialized vocabulary. It would also be a great read-aloud for 3rd grade. Lessons could be integrated with art units involving clay molding and art history for learning about celadon. Remember to look at the back sections that include an author’s note, a short information section about the history of celadon, and an interview with the author, Linda Sue Park about writing the book.
Review by Nancy Patton
Winchester Thurston School

Book Title: A Single Shard
Author: Linda Sue Park
Reviewer: Victoria Katrencik, Second Grade Teacher, Winchester Thurston School, Pittsburgh, PA
The Single Shard is a beautiful book, rich in history, culture, ideas and language; it can be appreciated on many levels and adapted to a variety of ages and subject areas. Although the book is publisher-recommended for ages ten and up, I feel it could work well as a read aloud for able second graders (eight- year olds), or as a read aloud/read along with third graders (nine-year olds), and could be read more independently by fourth through eighth graders.
The story is set in a celadon pottery making village in twelfth century Korea. Tree-ear, a ten-year old orphan boy, lives under the bridge, scavenging food, along with an elderly friend who is known as Crane-man because he walks on one good leg. Tree-ear has been secretly watching Min, the best master potter in the village, and dreaming of becoming a potter himself one day. After Tree-ear accidently breaks a piece of Min’s pottery, Min allows him to pay for the damage with manual labor. Thus begins Tree-ear’s apprentice- style relationship with Min and his wife. When the king’s emissary visits the village looking for pottery worthy of a royal commission, he recognizes the quality of Master Min’s work, but wishes for pots inlaid in the newest style which the elderly Min has been unable to complete in time. Tree-ear undertakes the journey to the capital to deliver finished examples of Min’s art. Along the way he sees many wonders but also meets with danger and treachery, and arrives at the royal court with only one shard of a pot to show the emissary. Due to his perseverance and resourcefulness Tree-ear secures a royal commission for Master Min and returns to the village to find his life forever changed.
The themes in this story are friendship and family, love and loyalty, courage and persistence, art and excellence, dreams and disappointment. It can be enjoyed as a well written adventure tale, but it also presents many opportunities to help our students understand and appreciate the history and culture of an important area of the world.
The story clearly illustrates some of the basic ideas of Confucianism, which is still relevant to the world view of modern day Korean culture. The role of relationships, central to Confucian thought, is explored throughout the story:
• friend to friend
• teacher and student
• elder and youth
• husband and wife
• ruler and subject
The emphasis on family and the parent-child relationship is shown by the way village society assigned the orphaned Tree-ear to the role of outcast and by the loneliness of the childless Min and his wife.
Confucian thought emphasized education and discussion, especially of moral issues. “Scholars read the great words of the world, but you and I must learn to read the world itself”, Crane-man reminds Tree-ear. Tree-ear, by the age of ten, has already developed the very Confucian habit of pondering ethical dilemmas, such as when he wonders whether stealing Kang’s new idea for inlay design is the same as stealing an object itself. Many of the questions posed in the book could be the starting point for class discussions using the shared inquiry model.
How Tree- ear learns to be a potter is a fascinating lesson in the beginning steps of traditional apprenticeship as he first does menial tasks for the master, then experiments with the materials on his own, closely observes the silent master at work, and eventually earns a place at his own wheel. Students could compare this model of learning with the way they learn a new skill.
Crane-man advises Tree-ear that any journey can be accomplished “one day, one village at a time”, and the journey becomes a metaphor for Tree-ear’s pursuit of his dream. Tree-ear demonstrates persistence throughout the story, as he scavenges food, cuts wood, learns to mold clay animals, completes his dangerous journey to the capital, and pursues his dream to become a potter. Min persistently seeks perfection in his craft. We are told that he “never failed to reject the first attempt”, and even Tree-ear has a hard time understanding how Min can smash all the vases with imperfect glazes. Further discussion of perseverance as a character trait would certainly be worthwhile, and practical application to the revising of first drafts of writing is an easy connection to make.
The concept of yin and yang is clearly illustrated in the description of the plum blossoms in the prunus vase on page 52. It is “the work of humans, the work of nature; clay from the earth, a branch from the sky.” We can see here the elements represented by the three main symbols for heaven (a dot), earth (a horizontal line), and man (a vertical line) from King Sejong’s wonderful Korean phonetic alphabet. These symbols, along with the Korean flag, could be a visual addition to the class concept/question board relating to the story.
The process of creating celadon pottery is as ongoing part of the story and contains much technical information. Pictures, examples, and field trips to see pottery would all enrich the study of this book, but given Tree-ear’s direct involvement in learning his craft, a hands-on experience for students with clay would be ideal. Or this book could be a lovely end of year read aloud for a class that has studied Asia and has had an art unit on pottery.
I would definitely give this book a five star rating and recommend its use in the elementary or middle school classroom.

A Single Shard
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is a delightful book, suitable for middle school students, and even for advanced elementary. It could be a very effective read-aloud for third grade up. The death of Tree-ear’s friend and the attack by the thief may be upsetting to some, but most students from 3rd up wouldn’t be bothered by it. It takes place in Koryo, Korea and, although fictional, it has an accurate portrayal of life for potters in that time period as well as the making of the prized celadon clay.
The story is about an orphaned boy named Tree-Ear who is fascinated with the work of a local potter, Min. He observes him, wishing to become a potter himself some day. He ends up being an assistant and ultimately he goes on a journey to bring an example of Min’s work to court so that he can get commissioned work. A thief attacks Tree-Ear and breaks the pottery. Tree-Ear is left with only one remaining shard but it is enough to get the commission for Min.
The world of the apprentice craftsman is presented very clearly in the story. The beauty of celadon and the difficulties of living in the time are also part of the story. The characters are compelling and would invite discussion. Being a pottery teacher myself, I would consider having high school students read the book and set the class up with a master/apprentice environment. It would be a good lesson in the different way crafts are taught in Asia, even to this day. I highly recommend this book.

A Single Shard
By Linda Sue Park
This book is about Tree-Ear, an orphaned boy who sneaks to watch a master potter from his village and accidently breaks one of his pieces. Tree-Ear begins working for the potter to pay him back. As Tree-Ear begins working for Min, he learns each step in the process of making pottery from gathering the clay at the riverbank to the final firing. Tree-Ear continues to work for Min after his debt is paid in hopes that the master potter will teach him how to use the wheel. Tree-ear goes on a great journey to help Min on his quest to become a commissioned potter. You will learn about Korean culture and the limitations placed on people in the Koryo Era(A.D. 918 to 1392).
This book is a fictional story based on knowledge of the Koryo Era and it is an easy read suitable for students in 5th through ninth grade. In the back of the book Linda Sue Park gives more background on this time period and about celedon pottery. She also provides a chapter of some of her other books. I could see these books being used in a 7th or 8th grade language arts class.

Danielle Fox
Falk Laboratory School K-5
The book, A Single Shard, would be best used in grades 3,4,5 or 6. (It could be used in 7th and 8th as well) It would be a perfect read aloud book because of the beautiful language and imagery used throughout the story. Students in grades 5 and 6 could handle reading this as a novel unit and discussing the themes in greater detail.
The story is about a young, orphan boy named Tree- Ear who is growing up under a bridge in 12th century Korea. He is being raised by an older gentleman, Crane-Man, nicknamed this for having only one leg. Crane-Man teaches Tree-Ear about “rights” and “wrongs” and how to be an honorable person even though they are poor and homeless.
During this time Korean celadon pottery was coveted around the world, and Tree-Ear longed to be like one of the master potters in his well known village. Tree-Ear had spied regularly on Min, the most skilled potter in the village, known for his perfection and low turn-out due to always taking his time. One day Tree-Ear accidently breaks one of Min’s un-fired pieces and ends up working for Min to repay his debt. Tree-Ear sees his opportunity to fulfill his dream and stays on as Min’s assistant. Throughout the story Tree-Ear becomes a part of Min’s life, making sacrifices to further his goal of learning to throw a pot and Min’s destiny of becoming a commissioned potter for the Royal Court.
There are so many discussion/lesson topics that could arise from reading this book with a class. The story is well written and full of great vocabulary words that could be used to segue into deeper discussion of Korea n culture. For instance the book talks about Tree-Ear eating delicious kimchee, a typical Korean dish. Through this, Korean cuisine could be discussed or sampled. This could also be used to catapult a geography lesson about the Korean peninsula; the class could track Tree-Ear’s journey from Ch’ulp’o to Songdo, or trade between Korea, China and Japan. A history lesson could be taught from Crane-Man’s story about the T’ang Chinese invading the castle at Puyo. Many cultural issues like Confucianism, filial piety and the five relationships, respect for elders, and reverence of the natural world could be addressed. Students could compare and contrast the way of life in 12th century Korea and present day by looking at transportation, jobs, housing, and other luxuries or lack there of. The most obvious discussion topic is pottery, the work surrounding the creation of pieces, and how it has changed since then.
I whole heartedly recommend this book to any teacher or student.