The Empty Pot
Henry Holt, 1990
Young Ping has a green thumb, and when the Emperor determines to "let the flowers choose" a successor to the throne, Ping has every reason to be hopeful. Along with children from all over China, Ping receives from the Emperor a single seed to tend for a year. Ping carefully watches over his seed, but at year's end, he has only an empty pot to present to the Emperor. When he sees the other children's flourishing plants, Ping is despondent. But as both his father and the Emperor recognize, he has done his best. Moreover, Ping's empty pot is the only one that represents the honest reality of trying to grow a cooked seed. Demi illustrates this simple and affecting tale with charming, fan-shaped images inspired by Chinese ceramics decoration.
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