Orphaned boy Tree-ear happily spends his day foraging in fields and on rubbish heaps. Then he discovers the workshop of master potter Min, the most brilliant – and ill-tempered - of twelfth-century Korea’s potters. Tree-ear is irresistibly drawn to Min’s workplace, dreaming of making his own pot someday. A simple mistake thrusts Tree-ear into Min’s world and it may prove to be the opportunity of a lifetime. But first he must prove himself to the gruff and bitter master artist. Will Tree-ear’s sacrifices be enough to earn what he most desires?

A Single Shard was read by David Townsend
David was recently featured on VPR’s Vermont Fiction Live! His theatre credits include Shakespeare’s R & J with Vermont Stage Company, Polaroid Stories, Caligula, and The Skin of Our Teeth. A native New Englander, hailing from Poland Spring, Maine, David studies at the Juiliard School of Drama.

What do you think?

Throughout the story Tree-ear struggles with choosing between right and wrong. When he watches the rice pouring out from a hole in the farmer’s sack what does Tree-ear consider, and what does he finally decide to do? How is he rewarded? Give other examples from the story of choices Tree-ear makes and describe how they affect him.

Crane-man is a mentor to Tree-ear, offering advice and wisdom on many occasions. He tells the boy, “My friend, the same wind that blows one door shut often blows another open.” Explain what you think he means, describe a time when you saw doors opening and closing and write about how it changed your path.

Min’s wife reaches out to Tree-ear while Min is pushing him away. Why? How does the same tragedy cause such a different reaction in two people? How do you think it affects Tree-ear? At what point in the story do you think Min begins to change and why?

Online Adventures Where should you go from here?

Linda Sue Park tells us in her author’s note that “Every piece described in the book actually exists in a museum or private collection somewhere in the world”. To see pictures of some of the pottery, including the Thousand Cranes Vase, go to her website. You can also take the A Single Shard quiz to test your memory!

We are very fortunate to have some master potters living in our area! Visit a gallery exhibit or take a pottery class and learn more about this art form. Check your local paper for information or visit Frog Hollow for a listing of exhibits and classes at their craft schools in Manchester, Middlebury or Burlington.

Check out the Korean National Tourism website and see some beautiful photographs of fall in Korea.

From the CHR Librarian

Linda Sue Park has three other books you might want to add to your reading list. Read excerpts and reviews online and be careful not to read the “spoilers” before the books!

Grace Greene from The Vermont Department of Libraries suggests you take a look at…

Blackwood, Gary L Shakespeare Stealer. Dutton, 1998.
A young orphan boy is ordered by his master to infiltrate Shakespeare's acting troupe in order to steal the script of "Hamlet," but he discovers instead the meaning of friendship and loyalty.

Choi, Sook Nyul Year of Impossible Goodbyes. Houghton, 1991.
A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.

Curry, Jane Louise The Lotus Cup. Atheneum, 1986.
Though two boys are paying attention to her, a seventeen-year-old in East Liverpool, Ohio, is painfully shy until she discovers in herself the eye, hand, and heart of a potter.

Paterson, Katherine Sign of the Chrysanthemum. Crowell, 1973.
A teen-ager comes to know himself through contacts with social ills and political unrest while searching for his father in Japan's capital, centuries ago.