A Single Shard is the winner of the 2002 Newbery Medal

Newbery Medal

The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...

, awarded for excellence in children's literature; it also received an honorable mention from the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature

The Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature are a set of literary awards presented annually by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association...

. The novel was written by Linda Sue Park

Linda Sue Park

Linda Sue Park is an American author of children's fiction. Park published her first novel, Seesaw Girl, in 1999. She has written six children’s novels and five picture books. Park’s work achieved prominence when she received the prestigious 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard...

, and is set in 12th-century Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

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Plot summary

Tree-ear, an orphan,with his friend Craneman lives under a bridge in Ch'ulp'o, a potters' village famed for delicate celadon ware. Tree-ear 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. Try reading this book a touching and sad ending for Tree-ear
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