A village boy with a big dream
'A small village on the west coast of Korea, mid to late twelfth century.' There you have it, straight to the point. Linda Sue Park begins A Single Shard with no wasted words because she wants to take her readers immediately to the setting and the time frame of the story she has to tell.
Tree-ear has nothing. He doesn't even have a proper name like the other children in the village. He lives in poverty, spending his days scavenging for scraps of food. He is in the care of a cripple called Crane-man who makes his home under a bridge on the outskirts of the village. Crane-man does his best to look after the orphan who appeared out of nowhere.
The village in which Tree-ear and Crane-man live is an important pottery community where the craftsmen produce ceramics that are famous not only in Korea but also far away in the court of the emperor of China.
Recently, Tree-ear has begun secretly watching the potters at work and dreams of someday creating his own pots. When a fascinated Tree-ear sneaks into the workshop of Min, the best potter in the village, little does he know that this one, furtive step will lead him on an adventure that will change his life forever.
A Single Shard won the 2002 Newbery Medal for excellence in young people's literature, and it is easy to see why.
It is a thoroughly captivating read and a worthy winner that deserves to be at the top of anyone's reading list.
