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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSTree-ear is an orphan boy living under a bridge in twelfth-century Korea with his only companion, a kind crippled man called Crane-man. In the potters' village of Ch'ulp'o, Tree-ear has spent months sneaking glimpses of the master potter Min at his wheel, watching clay rise and fall into perfect celadon vessels. When Tree-ear accidentally damages one of Min's pieces, he offers to work off the debt, and Min accepts. The work is backbreaking and Min is harsh, but Tree-ear hopes that if he proves himself useful, the old potter might one day teach him to make a pot of his own.
Free Battle of the Books questions for A Single Shard
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about A Single Shard. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a boy spy on a master potter by hiding behind a paulownia tree?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Tree-ear creeps to his favorite watching spot behind a paulownia tree with low, leaf-covered branches that screen him from view. From there he watches the potter Min throw clay on his wheel under the open eaves behind the house. The tree becomes Tree-ear's regular hideout for months.
- First half
In what book do chrysanthemum-inlaid wine cups on display at a market make every nearby potter pretend not to look?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
When Tree-ear finally sees Kang's finished inlaid pieces displayed for the emissary, he finds the white chrysanthemum petals blazing against the jade green glaze with black stems, so striking that Kang's other flaws seem to disappear. The gathered potters feign indifference but cannot stop staring. Tree-ear's heart sinks, sure Kang will win the commission.
- First half
In what book does a potter refuse to leave a tunnel-shaped hillside kiln for days while his clay fires?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Min stays at the kiln for the entire firing of his five melon-shaped inlaid vases, sleeping on straw on the hillside and barely touching his food. Tree-ear brings him meals and creeps away on tiptoe each evening, afraid that any noise might somehow ruin the process. The vigil shows how much rides on a single firing.
- Second half
In what book does a boy learn that the potter's craft passes from father to son, never to an outsider?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
After Min refuses to teach Tree-ear, the boy walks home with the words ringing in his ears and realizes for the first time that every apprentice in the village is indeed the son of a potter. He asks Crane-man about the tradition and learns that long ago a king decreed that potters' sons must follow the trade.
- Second half
In what book does a woman explain that a proud old man will not accept food offered out of pity?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
After Crane-man politely declines her offer of daily meals, Ajima tells Tree-ear, "Because he is proud." She understands that Crane-man does not wish to be fed out of pity, even though she genuinely needs help while Tree-ear is away. Tree-ear kicks a small stone and wonders why pride and foolishness are so often companions.
- Near the end
In what book does a boy visit a cliff where, long ago, palace women jumped rather than be taken prisoner?
✓ Answer
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
On his way to Songdo, Tree-ear makes a detour to the Rock of the Falling Flowers in Puyo because Crane-man urged him to see it. Standing at the top, he can see the broad Kum River below and imagines the ancient scene of bravery Crane-man described.
