A Prince and his Porcelain Cup illustrated by Li Jian Translated by Yijin Wert

"The little prince was very lonely without any friends in the palace. He looked at all the porcelain pieces in the palace and loved them. Every day he carefully wiped his mother's favourite porcelain cup."  The cup he loves is called The Chicken Cup. In a fit of rage the little boy breaks this precious cup.

Image Source: Commons Wikimedia

The Prince takes the cup to a porcelain craftsman and over time the wise old man shows the boy how his cup was made from clay on the potters wheel, the care that need to be taken with painting on the design, and finally the placement in the very hot kiln. The little prince comes to realise this is a complex process and his broken cup cannot be repaired. In later years when he became the Emperor, the little prince is still thinking about his mother's cup. He summons the best craftsmen and finally "The Emperor's wish can true. It was like his mother's favourite cup had returned to him."

You can see some art from this book here.

The chicken cup is from the Ming Dynasty. The word chicken in Chinese is similar to the word luck and so chickens symbolise fortune and happiness. Read more here.

About the Chicken cup: "In the world there are ... less than 20 pieces real Chenghua doucai chicken cups  still in existence, and most of then are collections of famous museums ... The cup has a flared mouth, with shallow curvature of its sides, and shallow ring foot. It is decorated with two pairs of chickens and their young, a rooster and a hen leading their young to feed. The illustration is full of life."

About Li Jian: Li Jian graduated from Hebei Normal University in 2001, majoring in Chinese Painting. Formerly a middle school art teacher, children's book editor and a partner in an illustration studio, Li now owns his own illustration studio focusing on illustrations for children's fairy tales. He has many bilingual books about Chinese culture and stories, such as his Chinese Zodiac Series and the stories of Mulan and Zheng He. Source - Shiny Lantern

A Prince and his Porcelain Cup is a dual language text in English and Chinese. Here are some other books illustrated by Li Jian. He has an excellent series which feature the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Tiger Brother will be published in 2022 (The Year of the Tiger). 

I suggest you also look for A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park as a companion text to share with an older reader. This is a story set in Korea which also focuses on the skills involved with pottery.

A single shard by Linda Sue Park

Why do I love to read children's books?  A single shard is why.  This book left me breathless. It is a wonderful story and it is wonderful storytelling.  Every time you think "oh I know how this will turn out" Linda Sue Park adds another twist taking you in an unexpected direction.  Tree-Ear is such a wise young boy and his relationships are so well drawn in this story of the special pottery fashioned in Korea and of one ten year old boy who longs to learn how to make such wonderful creations.

"Min was just beginning a new pot. Min threw a mass of clay the size of a cabbage onto the centre of the wheel. He picked it up and threw it again, threw it several times.  After one last throw he sat down and stared at the clay for a moment.   Using his foot to spin the base of the wheel, he placed dampened hands on the sluggardly lump, and for the hundredth time Tree-Ear watched the miracle."

While I was in America I thought I might read some Newbery winners.  I stumbled upon this one in a bookshop at Grand Central Station. A single shard won the Newbery medal in 2002.  You can read the whole story plot here and view a moving trailer. Here are some questions for teachers to use.

I was totally absorbed reading this book and I did not want it to end.  If you only read one book recommended by this blog make it A single Shard.

Here is an extract from A single shard :

"Over the past month or so Tree-ear had filled his idle time by moulding clay.  He kept a small ball in his waist pouch and experimented with it whenever he had the chance.  After some time a shape began to form out of the clay; it was almost as it the clay was speaking to him, telling him what it wished to become. A monkey ... Smaller than the palm of Tree-ear's hand, the monkey say with its hands clasped before its round belly, looking content and well-fed."

In a moving exchange Tree-ear gives the little monkey to his one true friend Crane Man before he sets off on a journey to deliver some of Min's unique pottery to the capital.

The scenes near the end of this book will leave you gasping. Here are some different cover designs:

If you enjoy this book (and I am sure you will) you might also look for The firework maker's daughter, and Where the Mountain meets the moon.