A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park - Tree-ear is an orphan who lives under a bridge with Crane-man, a disabled soldier.  Crand-man has raised Tree-ear since he was a toddler.  They live near Ch’ulp’o, a village of potters whose celadon finish is highly prized.  Tree-ear is determined to become the apprentice of Min, the oldest and best potter in the village.  Min dismisses him without consideration because only the son of a potter can become a potter.  But he does need help and eventually hires the boy to do laborious work that will allow Min to spend more time on his pottery.

An announcement is made in the village that a royal emissary is coming to select potters for a commission.  Min’s work is the best, but he is slower than other potters.  The emissary, wanting a sample from Min offers to let him bring his offering to the capital.  But Min cannot make such a journey.  Tree-ear offers to make the journey for him.  They pack the sample and Tree-ear sets off on his journey.  Part way along, he is set upon by thieves who think he has food or something they can easily sell for food in his backpack.  When they find it is only a piece of pottery, they cast it off the side of the mountain, breaking it into many pieces.  Tree ear climbs down the mountain but can only retrieve a single shard.  Even so, he perseveres and delivers the shard as a sample to the emissary.  The emissary gives a commission to Min.  When Tree-ear returns, he learns that Crane-man has perished in an accident, and that Min, will adopt Tree-ear as his son and rename him to Huang-pil.