The Empty Pot

Rating:
Summary: One of my top ten picture books
Review: "It's a jungle out there." And it really is. So how are we going to teach our children to live in today's society? I for one am going to teach my children to be honest- no matter what the cost. In the end, as in The Empty Pot, honesty is always the best policy. The setting is ancient China. The emperor loves flowers and is growing old. He needs to find a replacement for his crown. How to find a replacement? Give each child in the village a seed to see who can grow the most beautiful flower of course! Young Ping, who is an outstanding gardner, has little doubt he will grow a great flower for the emperor. The problem is, Ping's seed will not grow. All of the other kids are growing wonderful flowers, but yet Ping is failing. The day finally arrives and the emperor orders all of the children to bring their flowers to be inspected. Ping is ashamed, he has nothing to show. He approaches his father for advice. His father tells him that his pot, although empty of a beautiful flower, is sufficient enough; he did his best and the empty truth must do. So young Ping goes to the village with his empty pot. The emperor, while inspecting the various flowers, looks rather gloom. At last he approaches Ping. He asks Ping why is pot is empty. Ping explains that he did his best to grow the flower but it just would not grow. The emperor smiles and exclaims that he has found his replacement. He goes on to explain that all of the seeds he had given to the children were COOKED and therefore could not grow. Now you tell me, is honesty something you want to teach your children? If so, you will love this book. (By the way, my version is rather condensed and does not do the story nor the illustrations justice). I hope you enjoy it, I know that my children- as well as myself- adore this story.

Rating:
Summary: Teaches Children Honesty
Review: "Your best is good enough." This important message is one that every child should hear. In this book children learn that honesty, integrity and hard work earn great rewards. They discover that taking short-cuts and fibbing don't pay.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book with a touching message.
Review: A refreshing tale about the value of honesty; the boy who dares to appear before the Emporer with an empty pot is chosen to become the next Emporer. The illustrations are subtle yet wonderful- echoing the appeal of old Chinese porcelain designs. A nice aesthetic experience. Unlike some old tales retold, the ending emphasizes reward of the good rather than punishment of the bad. I wish I had bought the hardcover edition of this book because we plan on hanging on to it for a long time!

Rating:
Summary: Just had to add one more 5 star review!
Review: For years, this book has always been in my mind. Finally I'm writing a review after holding it for over 3 years. In The Empty Pot, Demi tells a stunning story of a chinese boy whose gardening skills reveals the truth of the emperor's deceptive call for his successor. With a profound disappointment, the boy found courage to show his failure - the truth - to the emperor. At the end, the boy gets rewarded for his honesty. Demi's captivating story about honesty and courage punches you right in the heart. Her illustrations, with immense charasteristic portraits of chinese art, are fascinating. I pledge to keep this book in my collectibles. I wish every child, and adult alike, has a chance to read it!

Rating:
Summary: Just had to add one more 5 star review!
Review: For years, this book has always been in my mind. Finally I'm writing a review after holding it for over 3 years. In The Empty Pot, Demi tells a stunning story of a chinese boy whose gardening skills ended up in a deceit to the emperor's call for his successor. With a profound disappointment, the boy found courage to show his truth - a failure - to the emperor. At the end, the boy gets rewarded for his honesty. Demi's captivating story about honesty and courage punches you right in the heart. Her illustrations, with immense charasteristic portraits of chinese art, are fascinating. I pledge to keep this book in my collectibles. I wish every child, and adult alike, has a chance to read it!

Rating:
Summary: Just had to add one more 5 star review!
Review: For years, this book has always been in my mind. Finally I'm writing a review after holding it for over 3 years. In The Empty Pot, Demi tells a stunning story of a chinese boy whose gardening skills reveals the truth of the emperor's deceptive call for his successor. With a profound disappointment, the boy found courage to show his failure - the truth - to the emperor. At the end, the boy gets rewarded for his honesty. Demi's captivating story about honesty and courage punches you right in the heart. Her illustrations, with immense charasteristic portraits of chinese art, are fascinating. I pledge to keep this book in my collectibles. I wish every child, and adult alike, has a chance to read it!

Rating:
Summary: You must read this book to every child you love!!
Review: I bought this book for all of my nieces and nephews. My three children have loved it for years. I even bought a copy to donate to my daughter's elementary school library. It teaches the truth about honesty in a very straight forward manner. In a day and time where we complain about the lack of values in our children, this book is a small answer to fill us with hope.

Rating:
Summary: A Keeper!!!
Review: I first learned of this book at my employer's back up childcare. When I first read this book to my then 6 year old son, I was brought to tears. The second time I read it, tears still came rolling down. I was just so touched by Ping's honesty and courage, which nowadays, is a rarity. The story is just so incredibly wonderful and inspirational. All I can think of was to have this book for my personal collection. It's definitely a keeper! A book to share for the next generation and beyond.

Rating:
Summary: Subtle spiritual message in The Empty Pot
Review: I found myself deeply moved by this story. Beyond the message about honesty, there is also a message about emptiness, and about our too-frequent attempts to hide or cover up that emptiness. As a Christian, I found this book to be a powerful reminder that we come before our King every day as empty-handed as when we were born -- and that He has a Kingdom to give us.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful for all ages
Review: I purchased this book for my daughter even before she was born. Even after working in a children's bookstore for several years, and seeing every new release, this continues to be one of my top ten favorite's. It has a wonderful message about honesty without being preachy. Demi has grasped the consept that the moral of the story need not be obvious, children understand a lot more than most authors give them credit for. The illustrations are well done and provide a nice backdrop. The bonus is of course, that adults enjoy reading it as well.