Who needs fantasy when real civilizations have been so diverse? Park's book brings medieval Korea to life through the eyes of two young brothers, one a talented kite maker, the other a skilled flyer. The story never set my pulse racing (which is the only reason I don't give it 5 stars --- I'm fond of thrillers), but hundreds of little details that make the boys' lives different from ours, yet the same, are effortlessly conveyed.

This book is about two brothers named Kee-sup and Young-sup who live in Korea. They both love to fly kites but only Young-sup can launch a kite successfully alone.Because Kee-sup is the oldest son,Young-sup is always in second place and he finds it unfair.One day when both brothers were at the hillside flying their kites,they met the king(who was only at their age) face to face and formed a special friendship together.The king wanted to join the kite-flying competition but he knew that everyone would let him win on purpose and so he asked Young-sup to represent him in the competition.But would Young-sup beat the rest and Kim Hee-nam who the champion for the past two years? Read and you will find out.

The Kite Fighters will fly you effortlessly back to the year 1473 and into the world of three young Korean boys. Two are brothers who each have talents with kites. The oldest is an artist and can craft the most beautiful kites. The younger boy is skilled at flying and technique in kite fighting. The third boy is the young King who longs to be like other boys, to run and play and fly a kite on a hill. Each scene is crafted carefully and progresses smoothly to the exciting finish, a competition of kite flying before the King. The author shares intimate looks into Korean history, culture, family life and traditions of that time. The time may be long ago and the place may be far away, but the emotions and excitement of the boys will still connect with readers of today. I really enjoyed this book. It inspires me to 1) read more by Linda Sue Park and 2) go fly a kite!

Jade is a very likeable character. The book starts with her and Willow playing a prank on her brother. Through Jade's perceptions we see her narrow world, and cheer as she breaks free, even for a little while, to the outer market. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This is a great book on many different levels. It painted a very clear picture of this era of Korea without reading like a history text or guidebook. Young children could easily follow it. It also used the characters in an organic manner speaking clear language and in simple situations to show the social dilemnas and contradictions Korean women- and many other women- had to live with.

The book is bittersweet because you are left with the impression that while the main character's abilities and awareness were growing, her possibilities would never again be as great. She was truly maturing in the sense that she was aware of how small her universe had to be.

An exquisitely written book. Jade Blossom is feisty enough for modern readers while still remaining true to her own time and culture.

Linda Sue Park does a wonderful job of integrating little bits of 17th century Korea into the story unobtrusively, often using it to show Jade Blossom's personality. For example, there is a very brief section where the women of the household are doing the laundry, taking out seams and hems to be able to more thoroughly clean the cloth and then beating the clothes with round sticks to get out the wrinkles. Jade Blossom observes: "Wearing clean clothes daily was a luxury only the wealthy could afford. Jade's mother and aunts saw to it that the members of the Han family were always clothed in a manner worthy of their place in society. There were times like today, as she bent for hours over the sticks, when Jade thought a lower place in society and a little less laundry would not be such a bad thing."

Jade and her family are likeable and interesting characters. And the beautiful illustrations by Jean and Mou-Sien Tseng add to the enjoyment of the book.

I'm not sure if A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park actually deserved the Newberry Medal, but it was a pretty good book.

This is the story of Tree-ear who is an orphan in Twelfth-Century Korea. He has lived under a bridge near a small potters' village and has been raised by Crane-man, a homeless widower. Crane-man has raised Tree-ear with love, teaching him those lessons needed for survival. Eventually, Tree-ear longs to become a potter. One day, Min gets a chance to provide a service for the village's best potter. It is a service which could eventually bring about the fulfillment of his dreams, but which could do just the opposite.

There are two real strengths to the novel. The first is the historical aspect. Park did a wonderful job of recreating Twelfth-Century Korea. Also, the relationships depicted are apt and insightful. I only had one small problem with the book. One legend related in the novel is a Masada-like story of a mass-suicide. The "bravery" of the women who chose death over a rough life is lauded. The message sent in that story is never refuted, and I've never liked that message or thought that it should be a strong message sent to children. Nevertheless, that isn't the primary message of the novel, and the novel very good, though not great. If you like this novel, you will probably also like Yang-fu of the Upper Yang-tze.

A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park, is set in 12th century Korea. The main character of this book is a young orphan boy named Tree-ear who lives under a bridge with an old, crippled man named Crane man. When he is not rummaging for food, Tree-ear spends countless hours watching a potter named Min as he works. Tree-ear wants someday to become a potter himself, but because this trade is supposed to be handed down from father to son, it seems at first very unlikely that Tree-ear will ever realize this dream. Eventually, Tree-ear does get a job working for Min, but he is only allowed to gather firewood and collect the clay which will be made into new pots. One day a royal emissary comes to town to give a pottery commission to a master potter. The selected potter would then make the pottery for the king and his court. Min works on a piece of pottery for a long time in the hopes of submitting it to the royal commission. When the piece is finally completed, Tree-ear eagerly volunteers to take the piece to the king. What happens to Tree-ear along the way of this journey is both surprising and inspiring. I really enjoyed reading this book because the setting and time period is unique, and the characters are very realistic. I also think that this book offers many important lessons for our youth today.

A short time ago I wrote about how I find the Booker Prize to be one of the few awards that consistently recognizes truly excellent books. The other award that I think does as well is the Newbery Medal. As always, there is varying quality even among the winners of this award but I found this book to be one of the best of the best.

First of all, I always appreciate books that take me to places I've never been. Certainly, this story of twelfth century Korea does that. Additionally, it describes various processes of pottery-making, something else with which I was not very familiar.

Most importantly, however, this is a story filled with wonderful characters. Tree-ear is an orphan who lives beneath a bridge with an old man named Crane-man. Slowly, Tree-ear works his way into the family of a master potter, Min & his wife, by doing work which the old potter now finds difficult. Ultimately, Tree-ear is sent on a long journey to the capital with a sample of Min's work to obtain a royal commission but, when the samples are destroyed along the way, he can only take a shard of the former pottery to the commissioner.

This is a beautiful story which is well worth reading--and that includes any "adults" who might be reading this. Remember, if you can't read a "children's book" and enjoy it, then your child should probably not be reading it either.

Linda Park is an enjoyable author, but I found this book disappointing. The book, The Year of Impossible Good-byes (referred to in the bibliography) is such a poignant, true account of the same time period for the same age group that this story seems watered down. It is still worth reading, but if you haven't read The Year of Impossible Good-byes, and this part of history interests you, make sure you read them both!

I read this book in one night. It was so easy to get into and the two characters that told the story, Tae-yul and Sun-hee, were very easy to move back and forth with. I liked how the author included the dates as well. Anyways, this book focuses on a brother and sister living in Korea during WWII, when it is under Japan's occupation. Seeing what the Japanese made the Koreans do, as well as seeing the wonderfully developed characters grow and change made this book so interesting. I only wish that the end wrapped up a few loose ends.

I read this book with my daughter's book club (4th graders) and I think I enjoyed it even more than the kids did. Because it was written for young adults, the writing style is simple and accessible, but the story and, in particular, the history that is set forth in this book is certainly worth reading. Americans don't learn enough about other culture. This is a great opportunity to learn about WWII through the perspective of a young Korean girl, living in Japanese-occupied Korea. I highly recommend this book.