Recommended Audience: Upper Elementary and Middle School readers/ Children aged 8-14
Opinion– Recommended
Synopsis: Set in 12th century Korea, orphan Tree-ear lives under a bridge in a small village spending his days with a kindly man he calls Craneman. Together, they eke out a meager living foraging and digging through the village’s midden heaps. Despite his love for Craneman, Tree-ear begins looking to the future. He happens upon a famous potter in his village and falls in love with the art of pottery. A Single Shard follows Tree-ear’s journey as he works hard to achieve his dream.
Advisories: mention of the word ‘concubine’ and a group suicide as part of a Korean myth
Details: I came across this title doing research on age-appropriate books to read with my upcoming students. As a historical fiction lover myself, I was intrigued because A Single Shard takes place in a time period I love, but in a place I admittedly know very little about: Korea. After reading the blurb, I added it to my list for review. I recommend this award-winning book on the merit of its writing, character development, and alignment with various Islamic values.
I appreciate Linda Sue Park’s rich writing as well as how she conveyed meaning to me as a reader without dumbing down the language. I could easily imagine myself standing in the forest surrounded by the lush green trees and digging clay on the riverbank next to Tree-ear. Most of all, I appreciate Park’s characterization of Tree-ear, Craneman, and Min the Potter. The descriptions of making and decorating pottery along with day to day life in a medieval Korean village made for an enjoyable read as well.
Character development is another strong aspect to A Single Shard. Readers never find out how old Tree-ear is exactly, but he seems to be between 11-13. He may not be as outrageous or adventurous as some more popular male protagonists, but he possesses grit and resilience. Throughout the story, Tree-ear is faced with moral dilemmas and he frequently falls back on the insight Craneman has given him over the years. More than once, Tree-ear defers to what he thinks Craneman would do as a trusted adult. Tree-ear is also respectful of his elders and never talks back to them. Although Tree-ear’s beliefs do not stem from Islam, they don’t contradict them either. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, respects his elders, refuses to beg for food, and does his best to make sure he does the right thing despite making things harder for himself. Additionally, he keeps his word and works extremely hard not only to work off a debt, but to achieve his dream. Although Craneman was a secondary character, it is plain that his wisdom and careful storytelling impacted Tree-ear in many ways. Additionally, Min undergoes a transformation as he lets go of some serious grief to embrace life.
There are mentions of Buddhism and a Buddhist temple in the story, but there are no explanations or descriptions of practices or rituals. The characters use the temple bells to mark time, but give no indication that they are Buddhists themselves.
Teacher’s Note: This book could lend itself to a plethora of unit studies and interdisciplinary lessons in both a secular or Islamic environment. It could tie into Asian American and Pacific Islander Month or be used to investigate the historical aspects of that time period, specifically for 7th graders. There are also many instances in the story that could spark conversations about right and wrong, societal expectations, grief, friendship, and hard work. Since I focus on novel studies in my class, I plan to read this with my students and study the story structure, vocabulary, and historical period. I look forward to discussing this with my students.
Things I Liked:
- Craneman and Tree-ear’s genuine concern for one another
- Tree-ear’s commitment to hard work, a moral code, and his dream
- View into a different culture
- The nuances–This book isn’t a difficult read, but it does require a certain level of attention to pick up on the nuances of the story. (Additional teacher’s note: this is a skill many students need to practice.)
- Tree-ear’s commitment to hard work, a moral code, and his dream
Detailed Advisories:
At one point, Craneman does tell Tree-ear a story of a group of a king’s concubines (pg. 110) that choose to throw themselves off a cliff rather than be captured by the enemy. The story is told as an example of courage, but Craneman does go on to tell Tree-ear that “…leaping into death is not the only way to show true courage” (pg. 111). This may necessitate a conversation about how suicide is haram and not an option for us as Muslims, but I do like that Craneman suggests there are other ways to deal with our problems.
Final Thoughts: It’s a good story with no inappropriate words or actions, many characters have redeemable qualities. Furthermore, it gives opportunities for discussion about how to handle situations.
Illuminated Pages 