The Firekeeper's Son

Author: Linda Sue Park
Paperback: 40 page(s)
Age Range: 4 - 8

Book Description:

In 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.

- 2004 Parents' Choice Recommended Winner
- 2004 New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
- 2005 CCBC Choices
- 2005 Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year

Kirkus Reviews
a tale rooted in...history...watercolor illustrations glow with vibrancy...especially striking...A lovely telling that will bring readers back"

Booklist
handsome, watercolor-and-pastel double-page pictures personalize the history...panoramic views...as the boy tends the flame that preserves peace"