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Firekeeper's Son by Linda Sue Park (2004, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHoughton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
ISBN-100618133372
ISBN-139780618133376
eBay Product ID (ePID)2306692
Product Key Features
Book TitleFirekeeper's Son
Number of Pages40 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2004
TopicPeople & Places / Asia, Action & Adventure / General, General, People & Places / United States / Asian American
IllustratorYes, Downing, Julie
GenreJuvenile Fiction
AuthorLinda Sue Park
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height0 in
Item Weight16.6 Oz
Item Length9 in
Item Width10.2 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceJuvenile Audience
LCCN2002-013917
Reviews...compelling...Lyrical prose... Children will be intrigued...caught up in the riveting dilemma, and satisfied by the resolution., PreSchool-Grade 3-Park's command of place, characterization, and language is as capable and compelling in this picture book as it is in her novels. Set in 19th-century Korea, this story centers around an actual bonfire signal system. Every night, when Sang-hee's father sees that the ocean is clear of enemies, he climbs the mountain to light his fire, setting in motion a chain reaction of blazes that eventually reaches the peak closest to the palace and assures the king that all is well in the land. When Father breaks his ankle, his son must ascend alone into the darkness with a bucket of burning coals. During a dramatic pause, he contemplates the consequences of inaction and his secret desire to see the king's soldiers. Lyrical prose and deftly realized watercolors and pastels conjure up the troops in a vision linked to the glowing coal clasped in the boy's tongs. In the next scene, a close-up of the last coal illuminates Sang-hee's eyes, his face a study of concentration. Upon the child's descent, his father shares the memory of his own youthful desires and his pride in his son's accomplishment. A sense of inherited mission pervades the conclusion as Sang-hee learns that he, too, is "part of the king's guard." Children will be intrigued by this early form of wireless communication, caught up in the riveting dilemma, and satisfied by the resolution. Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. , "handsome, watercolor-and-pastel double-page pictures personalize the history...panoramic views...as the boy tends the flame that preserves peace" BOOKLIST, "a tale rooted in...history...watercolor illustrations glow with vibrancy... especially striking...A lovely telling that will bring readers back" KIRKUS REVIEWS, "Suspenseful...Assured, empathetic storytelling involves readers in Sang-hee's inner conflict...Downing amplifies the tension with dramatically composed watercolor-and-pastel illustrations ...fascinating" PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review, "handsome, watercolor-and-pastel double-page pictures personalize the history...panoramic views...as the boy tends the flame that preserves peace" BOOKLIST Booklist, ALA "a tale rooted in...history...watercolor illustrations glow with vibrancy... especially striking...A lovely telling that will bring readers back" KIRKUS REVIEWS Kirkus Reviews "Suspenseful...Assured, empathetic storytelling involves readers in Sang-hee's inner conflict...Downing amplifies the tension with dramatically composed watercolor-and-pastel illustrations ...fascinating" PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review Publishers Weekly, Starred "An attractive celebration of unity, peace, and family heritage, Sang-hee's story also emphasizes...beauty, power, and responsibility." THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "...compelling...Lyrical prose... Children will be intrigued...caught up in the riveting dilemma, and satisfied by the resolution." School Library Journal, 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.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. , "An attractive celebration of unity, peace, and family heritage, Sang-hee's story also emphasizes...beauty, power, and responsibility." THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS, K-Gr. 3. Park, who won a Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard (2001), tells a picture-book story set in Korea 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 © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Dewey Edition21
TitleLeadingThe
Grade FromPreschool
Dewey Decimal[E]
Grade ToThird Grade
SynopsisIn 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.
LC Classification NumberPZ7.P22115Fi 2003
