A Single Shard

By: Linda Sue Park

Tree-ear has lived under a bridge with his friend Crane-man since he was very little.  Crane-man is wise but crippled, and Tree-ear is an outcast as an orphan.  They spend their days

scrounging for food and living the best they can.  Tree-ear is in awe of the local potters, especially Min.  When Tree-ear accidentally breaks one of Min's works, he offers to work for Min to pay the debt.  Tree-ear continues to work, hoping that Min will teach him how to use the pottery wheel.

Mrs. Senechal says:
This book drew me in right away.  The setting is Korea around 1000 A.D.  It was amazing to read about the many difficult steps the potters went through to make their beautiful pots.  I also loved the two main characters, Crane-man and Tree-Ear.  In addition, this book won the Newbery Award in 2002!  If you like historical fiction and descriptive writing, you will love this book.

**Our school is attending the Plum Creek Literacy Festival at Concordia University, in Seward, NE.  We will get to go to a session led by this book's author, Linda Sue Park!