Ahoy there me mateys! I picked up this book because of me ongoing goal of reading all of the Newbery winners. This novel won in 2002 and was inspired by a 13th-century Goryeo celadon vase designated as Korean National Treasure No. 68 located at the Kansong Art Museum. It was a very enjoyable historical fiction tale.
Tree-ear is an orphan who lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a village famed for its celadon pottery. He becomes enamored with secretly watching Min the Potter make pots and harbors a wish to learn how to make his own one day. However, when Tree-Ear ends up damaging a pot, he becomes Min’s helper to pay for his mistake. His life is forever changed.
I thought Tree-ear was an extremely lovely character. He is so thoughtful and hardworking. I also loved Crane-Man and his life philosophy. I thought the friendship between the two was the highlight of the book. I also loved the look into pottery making of the period. The audiobook narrator, Graeme Malcolm, did a nice job. The minor quibble is that I thought the book was a bit too short when dealing with Tree-ear’s journey and the event that was the title’s theme. That said, no regrets about this one. Arrrr!
Side note: The author has a lovely page that discusses her real life inspirations. To see the list of the other Newbery books I have read check out me Newbery page! I hadn’t read a book off this list since 2020.
Goodreads’ website has this to say about the novel:
Tree-ear, an orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated–until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself–even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.
To visit the author’s website go to:
Linda Sue Park – Author
To buy the book go to:
a single shard – Book
To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List
Captain's Quarters 
A lovely review about an unusual book that I probably wouldn’t pick up. Though your recommendation is sufficient for me to give it another look:)).
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This is an odd book. I enjoyed it but don’t know if I would completely recommend it 🙂
x The Captain
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I always know I can rely on your absolute honesty:)).
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I’ve also been doing a poor job of keeping up with my goal to read the Newbery Award books. (As an interesting timing coincidence, I have one of them waiting on hold for me at the library because I’ve planned to start working at this challenge again.)
This one sounds interesting! I thought I’d read it before based on the title, but it must have been a book with a similar title because based on your review this book is completely new to me.
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I read a whole slew of these Newbery winners and got bogged down. The older ones don’t always age well and the newer ones, I sort of forget to read. Which one came in at the library? Did ye review it yet?
x The Captain
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Some of the older ones really don’t age well. I got Shen of the Sea from my library and read it (it is one of the ones that aged poorly) so I didn’t write a full review of it.
Unrelated note: I finally finished the Sharon Shinn Shifting Circle series, and posted a review of that one on my blog last week. It’s a series that you might enjoy, if you’re looking for a contemporary story with shape-shifters. It’s not actually an urban fantasy story, no matter now it’s marketed.
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