A Single Shard

good

This was a delightful story that kept me wanting more after it was finished. The characters were rich and the story interesting not only in its historical value but also that it kept this listener fully engaged. Definitely 5 stars.

I don't understand how this won a Newbery award. The plot and characterization were mechanical and simplistic. You could see the ending a mile away -- sure, it's a kid's book, but I haven't found clunky obviousness to be the norm with high-quality children's fiction. It felt like the kind of multi-c......more

A delightful historical fiction novel, set in 12th century Korea. We follow Tree-ear, a young orphan as he journeys on his path to follow his dreams of become a potter. I really admired his tenacity and quick-thinking. The novel is historically rich, with many of the pottery pieces based on real-life......more

, جاءت فكرة النص للكاتبة وهي تبحث عن تاريخ كوريا القديمة فلفتت نظرها بعض العبارات عن الفخار الكوري والذي ينظر له في تلك الحقبة على إنه من أروع الأعمال في العالم . على الرغم من قلة عدد صفحات هذه الرواية الشيقة حيث أنها تحوي 147 صفحة فقط إلا أنها استغرقت أربعة أعوام لإنجازها منذ انبثاق فكرة الرواية وحت......more

Set in 12th century Korea, this book offers a glimpse into an ancient and ritualized society through the memorable and touching story of a young orphan boy and his foster father, an elderly hermit. Detailed and charming, the story is effective on several levels. Although certainly simple enough for th......more

Eyes tap-dance as Linda Sue Park explains the spur-of-the-moment decision to give her Newbery medal for A Single Shard to her dad at the ALA awards ceremony in 2002. The auditorium went from noisy to dead silent as I walked to the edge of the stage to hand Dad the medal. "I'm thinking to myself, why......more