The Empty Pot - Softcover

Demi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805082271 ISBN 13: 9780805082272

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks, 2007

Synopsis

The Empty Pot has sold more than 300,000 copies in hardcover and paperback. Now, in a big book format ideal for Demi's lavish art, this classic favorite can be shared with a whole group of children at once!

This is a story about a boy who loves flowers but is unable to grow one in the emperor's contest. Demi's exquisite art and beautifully simple text show how Ping's seeming failure is turned around in this satisfying tale of honesty rewarded.

"A beautifully crafted book that will be enjoyed as much for the richness
of its illustrations as the simplicity of its story."―School Library Journal

About this title

About the Author:

Demi is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including Firebird, Buddha, The Dalai Lama and The Dragon's Tale. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she lives in Carnation, Washington.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3-- When the Chinese emperor proclaims that his successor will be the child who grows the most beautiful flowers from the seeds the emperor distributes, Ping is overjoyed. Like the emperor, he loves flowers and anything he plants bursts into bloom. But the emperor's seed will not grow, despite months of loving care, and Ping goes before the emperor carrying only his empty pot. The emperor ignores the beautiful blossoms brought by the other children and chooses Ping, revealing that the seeds he handed out had been cooked and could not grow. This simple story with its clear moral is illustrated with beautiful paintings. Each page contains a single picture, shaped like a stiff, rounded, paper fan and framed in celadon brocade that subtly changes pattern from one spread to the next. Isometric perspective, traditional Chinese architecture, and landscape motifs are combined with Demi's fine line and lively children and animals. While all the landscapes featuring the emperor and the other children are in brilliant red, gold, and purple, the scenes involving Ping alone are predominantly beige and delicate green. Ping is almost always shown as a solitary figure in contrast to the busy groups of running, smiling children, reinforcing theportrait of him as a quieter, more contemplative person whose values make him a worthy heir to the emperor. A beautifully crafted book that will be enjoyed as much for the richness of its illustrations as for the simplicity of its story. --Eleanor K. MacDonald, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0805082271
• ISBN 13: 9780805082272
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Demi