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Searching... Newberg Public Library | J AWARDS PARK 2005 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
In Korea in the early 1800s, news from the countryside reached the king by means of signal fires. On one mountaintop after another, a fire was lit when all was well. If the king did not see a fire, that meant trouble, and he would send out his army. Linda Sue Park's first picture book for Clarion is about Sang-hee, son of the village firekeeper. When his father is unable to light the fire one night, young Sang-hee must take his place. Sang-hee knows how important it is for the fire to be lit-but he wishes that he could see soldiers . . . just once.
Mountains, firelight and shadow, and Sunhee's struggle with a hard choice are rendered in radiant paintings, which tell their own story of a turning point in a child's life. Afterword.
Author Notes
Linda Sue Park was born in Urbana, Illinois on March 25, 1960. She received a B.A. in English from Stanford University. After graduating, she worked as a public-relations writer for a major oil company for two years. She obtained advanced degrees in literature from Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland and from the University of London. Before becoming a full-time author, she held numerous jobs including working for an advertising agency, teaching English as a second language to college students, and working as a food journalist. Her first book, Seesaw Girl, was published in 1999. Her other books include The Kite Fighters, Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems), and A Single Shard, which won the 2002 Newbery Medal. She also wrote Storm Warning, which is the ninth book in the 39 Clues series. Her title A Long Walk to Water made the New York Times bestseller list.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-In 19th-century Korea, a father explains to his son the importance of their humble village. Sang-hee's father is the village firekeeper like his father before him. When there is no trouble on the horizon, the firekeeper lights a bonfire on the mountain. Each village, in turn, then lights a fire until the last one signals to the King that all is well. Though the boy's father tells him how lucky they are to live in peace, Sang-hee wishes to see the gallant soldiers with their weapons. One evening the fire remains unlit, so he heads up mountain with the bucket of burning coals. He comes upon his father who has fallen and hurt his ankle. He continues up the hill, running to the rhythmic echoes "light the fire, light the fire" and "time of peace, time of peace." When he gets to the giant pile of kindling, he drops the first coal on the ground where it shatters and cools. As he lifts the second coal, he thinks of how grand it would be to see the soldiers, and it burns out. He lights the first with the one remaining coal and imagines a great battle within the flames. When it is spent, he builds a new pile of kindling for tomorrow. His father proudly tells Sang-hee, "We are part of the King's guard, just as the soldiers are-we are the first part." Linda Sue Park narrates this iconographic version of her picture book (Clarion, 2004), accompanied by traditional instrumental music that captures the setting and emotions. The watercolor-and-pastel illustrations depict the modest village and people in cool blues in contrast to the heated reds and orange of the flames. This powerful film serves as both an introduction to Park's work for older viewers and an intergenerational story for younger ones.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Newbery Medalist Park (A Single Shard) brings an accomplished novelist's sensibility to this suspenseful picture book set in 19th-century Korea, fully developing her characters despite the abbreviated format. Every night, Sang-hee's father climbs the mountain in their seaside village and lights a fire, to signal that no enemies have landed. Firekeepers on adjacent mountains pass on the message, which eventually reaches the king's palace. Sang-hee pines for a little excitement and wishes that even one of the king's soldiers would ride out ("I could show him the beach. Where to catch the best fish.... After that he might teach me a little about sword-fighting"). One evening, when his father is injured, Sang-hee takes over his task. Tempted to draw the soldiers, and then almost unable to carry out his mission because he drops a coal and another burns out, Sang-hee kindles the fire at last, and takes pride in being, as his father says, "part of the king's guard just as the soldiers are." Assured, empathetic storytelling involves readers in Sang-hee's inner conflict. Downing (Mozart, Tonight) amplifies the tension with dramatically composed watercolor-and-pastel illustrations. While Sang-hee debates lighting the fire, his eyes nearly fill the spread, transfixed on the coal he holds and reflecting its hot orange glow. Elsewhere, sparks fly off the coal, metamorphosing into bright metal points on the armor of the soldiers he imagines. The notion of duty to others versus personal longing adds depth to an already fascinating snippet of history. Ages 5-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Each night Sang-hee's father lights the mountaintop fire that begins the chain of bonfires informing the king that no enemy boats have been seen. When his father is hurt, Sang-hee must take his place. Aptly capturing a young boy's point of view, this well-written story, set in nineteenth-century Korea, is accompanied by handsome if somewhat romanticized illustrations. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Drawing once again on her heritage, Newbery Medalist Park tells a tale rooted in the history of Korea. Centuries ago--and through the 19th century--the lighting of fires apprised the king of the safety of his country. Darkness warned of trouble. When Sang-hee's father is injured, Sang-hee must climb the mountain with the brass pot of hot coals to start the fire that signals all is well. The first night Sang-hee contemplates whether or not he should light the fire--after all, if he does not, the soldiers will come and he would like to see the soldiers just once. In the end both Sang-hee and his father are proud that Sang-hee has become a trustworthy fire-starter as his father and grandfather were before him. Even in the darkness the watercolor illustrations glow with vibrancy. The cover illustration is especially striking: Sang-hee bright-eyed at the orange-and-yellow fire flickering before him. A lovely telling that will bring readers back to read or hear this story one more time. (Picture book. 5-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. Park, who won a Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard (2001), tells a picture-book story set inorea in the early 1800s about a young boy in a remote village who suddenly finds himself serving his country. At sunset Sang-hee's father always climbs the mountain and lights a fire that signals to another firekeeper on the next mountain to light his fire, and so on, all the way to the mountain at the palace of the king, who knows from the fire signals that all is well in the land. Then one evening Sang-hee's father breaks his ankle, and the boy must keep the light burning. Downing's handsome, watercolor-and-pastel double-page pictures personalize the history, showing realistic close-ups of the child, who plays soldiers and dreams of the excitement of battle. In contrast are the panoramic views far across the country as the boy tends the flame that preserves peace from mountain to mountain. Add this to those lighthouse stories about the brave child who must take over for adults. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist