A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Tree-ear is a 10-year-old orphan who lives under a bridge in the village of Ch'ulp'o in 12th century Korea. He lives with Crane-Man, who has been caring for Tree-Ear since he was young. The little boy watches the village from afar, admiring the potters of the village as they create their stoneware. Out of curiosity, Tree-Ear goes into the village to examine some of the work by a talented potter named Min but accidentally breaks one of Min's boxes. To make up for breaking the box, Tree-Ear offers to work for Min for nine days, which eventually turns into eighteen months. In the end, Tree-Ear learns to create pottery and develops a sense of family after losing his guardian Crane-Man. Despite being a story that takes place centuries ago, it delivers "a simplicity and immediacy that is both graceful and unpretentious." ("A homeless boy," 2001)

Critical Analysis

A Single Shard is a historical fiction novel with a straightforward plot. The story is in the third person with themes that include perseverance, family, and devotion. Tree-Ear's character traits include honesty, selflessness, and kindness. The story is filled with rich cultural details of early Korean culture like language, artistic design, geography, food, religion like the celebration of Buddha's birthday, and customs like giving shelter to weary travelers. Linda Sue Park was born in the United States and grew up in a Korean household despite not speaking Korean. Park was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 2002 for this book.

The strength of this book is that it provides a unique setting for contemporary readers of 12th-century Korea. Its weakness is that the author does not use more Korean language throughout the text. Readers may enjoy Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine, a historical fiction novel about a young girl's experience of the Chinese Cultural Revolution during the 1960s and 1970s.

References

"A homeless boy". (2001, March 19). A Single Shard. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 28, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/linda-sue-park/a-single-shard/

Park, L. S. (2022). A Single Shard. Rock the Boat.