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At a first I assumed, A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, would be about pottery, but this book had a deeper meaning. Set in the twelfth century, Tree-ear, the main character, is an orphan and lives under a bridge with Crane-man. Tree-ear is captivated by pottery and watches the potter Min create his celadon pottery every day. One day, Tree-ear accidentally breaks one of Min’s pots, so he works for Min to pay off the dept. After Tree-ear had worked off his debt, he asked to work for Min, in hopes of learning how to create pots. Min accepts the offer, but does not teach Tree-ear how to pot. Eventually, news spreads that the royal emissary is on a tour to assign royal commissions for the palace. This is every potter’s dream to be assigned a royal commission. On the way to Min’s house one day, Tree-ear sees Kang, a rival potter, working on something secretively. Tree-ear peeks into Kang’s workplace and is troubled about whether he should tell Min about Kang’s innovative idea. Tree-ear decides not to, and Kang gets a lot of attention from the emissary. After the emissary leaves, Tree-ear decides to tell Min of Kang’s idea, since Kang had publicly shown his work. Min immediately works on new pots, but they are ruined due to oxidation. The emissary gives Min a second chance to bring his work to the city of Songdo, where he will inspect it. Min cannot walk to Songdo, being an old man, and Tree-ear offers to deliver the vases. On his journey, Tree-ear visits a national landmark, only to have the vases smashed by robbers. Instead of returning home, Tree-ear takes a shard of a vase and deliver it to Songdo. When Emissary Kim sees the shard, he is impressed by the work and gives Min a royal commission. Overjoyed, Tree-ear returns home quickly, only to find that Crane-man had died. Min adopts Tree-ear and teaches him about pottery. At the end, Tree-ear is left wondering about the perfect design for a vase.