A Single Shard

Park, Linda Sue, read by Graeme Malcolm. 2002. A Single Shard. Listening Library. ISBN 978-0807207017.

In twelfth-century Korea, the orphaned Tree Ear lives under a bridge with his de facto guardian, the homeless Crane Man. Crane Man shares with Tree Ear not only his meager physical possessions but also his much greater stock of kindness and wisdom. Life is hard but manageable – except that Tree Ear longs to learn how to make the celadon pottery for which his village is known.

While spying on Min the potter, Tree Ear breaks a pot and in reparation becomes Min’s quasi-apprentice… except that in a society in which jobs are passed on from father to son, Tree Ear will never be allowed to follow in Min’s footsteps. When Min’s chance at gaining an important royal commission depends on Tree Ear’s efforts, Tree Ear must apply Crane Man’s lessons and test his own character on a harrowing journey.

Park evokes the historical setting with descriptions of clothing and food. In a story that centers around the art of ceramics, it makes sense that Park describes the process of making celadon pottery in detail, from digging the clay through firing in a communal village kiln. Historical facts arise naturally in the story and don’t seem forced. And while readers won’t be able to identify personally with what seems like Tree Ear’s main obstacle – the fact that custom won’t allow him to take up a profession that hasn’t been handed down in his family – the truth is that Park broadens the issue believably until the book is about identity, belonging, and what makes us who we are.

All of the historical fiction I read as a child was set either in Europe or America. I enjoyed experiencing a novel that was set not only in a different part of the world, but also in a time period that doesn’t often get treated in historical fiction for young people.

Graeme Malcolm does a good job of narrating this audiobook by Listening Library, changing his accent and tone subtly to differentiate among the different characters. I did wonder why the producers didn’t choose a Korean narrator for the story. It’s not as if there aren’t Korean actors to choose from!

I think it would be really neat to set up an audiobook listening station like the ones music stores have to let people preview albums. If I could do such a thing, I’d put the first disc of this audiobook on it along with other excellent historical audiobooks like Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy or LeVar Burton’s recording of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963.

Francesca Goldsmith writes in School Library Journal, “This book will engage both individual readers and discussion groups; the audio version makes it accessible to a broader audience, while giving style and substance to those who have read the print version.”

Goldsmith, Francesca. School Library Journal. Qtd. in Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/Single-Shard-Linda-Sue-Park/dp/0807207012/ref=sr_1_1/103-0423122-5982232?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175042647&sr=8-1 .