61 pages • 2 hours read
Linda Sue ParkA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Tree-ear is an orphan boy who is approximately 12 years old when the story begins. His nickname derives from a species of mushroom that appears to have no parent seed, like the boy himself. Tree-ear’s parents died when he was still a toddler, and the only family he has ever known is Crane-man. Tree-ear is skinny and usually hungry because he has to forage for food in the town’s trash heaps. Despite the hardship of his existence, he keeps a hopeful attitude and rejoices at every small windfall that comes his way. As he grows older, Tree-ear generously tries to help the elderly Crane-man by performing tasks that are beyond the old man’s ability.
Aside from his attachment to Crane-man, Tree-ear’s only other interest is pottery making. Although he is at first rebuffed by Min, the best potter in the village, Tree-ear volunteers to work for Min for free, hoping one day to learn his craft. Over the course of the novel, Tree-ear faces repeated setbacks and moments of disappointment, but he never completely gives up his dream of one day becoming a master potter. His determination eventually pays off when Min formally accepts him as an apprentice and welcomes him into the potter’s home.
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