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The Empty Pot

by Demi

4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 · rating details · 1,469 ratings · 229 reviews

An IRA-CBC Children's Choice.

An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists."

When Ping admits that he is the only child in China unable to grow a flower from the seeds distributed by the Emperor, he is rewarded for his honesty.

Paperback, 32 pages

Published September 15th 1996 by Square Fish (first published March 15th 1990)

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Lists with This Book

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Best Children's Books

440th out of 2,283 books — 3,579 voters

Picture Books About Gardens

13th out of 94 books — 51 voters

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Community Reviews

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Oct 24, 2012 Heather Mcgrath rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-literature-fantasy-pic, fiction, grades-1-5, picture-book, print-format, award-winning

Summary:

"The Empty Pot" is a book set in China. A boy named Ping loved flowers. Everything he touched bloomed as if by magic. Everyone in the kingdom loved flowers too, even the Emperor. One day the Emperor decided he needed to find a successor to his throne. He came up with a plan to give each child in the kingdom a seed and see who could grow the best flower. The child who could grow the best flower would be who the Emperor would choose to succeed him. All of the children came to the palace to...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Kara Buchholz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2-4, 311, adolesence, picture-book, pottery, print-format

Summary
Ping lives in China and really enjoys growing flowers and trees. The special thing about Ping is that he can make these entire blossoms very beautifully grown. The emperor calls all the children around to show them their plant since he was growing old and could not tend to his garden much longer. Ping was thrilled to try and be a part of the garden and wanted to make a lasting impression on the emperor. Sadly though, his flower in the pot did not grow but still decided to take it to the e...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Veronica Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-book, print-format

Ping was a boy who grew up in China and had a real green thumb. The emperor loved flowers and tended to his garden every day but he was growing old. He needed to choose a successor to the throne very soon. He decided to call all of the children in the kingdom and they would be given special flower seeds and whoever has the best flower in a year will get the throne!
This news spread far and wide, all of the children wanted to be chosen so badly. Ping was so excited because he was such a great ga...more Ping was a boy who grew up in China and had a real green thumb. The emperor loved flowers and tended to his garden every day but he was growing old. He needed to choose a successor to the throne very soon. He decided to call all of the children in the kingdom and they would be given special flower seeds and whoever has the best flower in a year will get the throne!
This news spread far and wide, all of the children wanted to be chosen so badly. Ping was so excited because he was such a great gardener already he felt like he had it in the bag! He watered it every day and made sure that it was in the best soil. Two months had passed and it still hadn’t sprouted so he moved it to a pot with even richer soil. He reluctantly went to the palace with an empty pot to present to the emperor. The emperor was so excited that Ping had come to him with the truth because all of the special seeds had been cooked so they were impossible to grow, that he awarded ping the kingdom!
I rated this book 5 stars because it has such a good message. This book is so sweet and the pictures tell the story so well that you can easily become intrigued by just looking at the pictures. This book is so well written it will keep even the most easily distracted child entertained. It is a perfect length that you can read aloud to the students without them being too fussy about sitting longer, if you are in a lower grade. The message this book gives is to always tell the truth, which we should teach our students from the very beginning. It helps the students realize that they shouldn’t doubt the answers that they give in your class; just because the whole table has another answer doesn’t always mean that they are wrong. It is such a strong message that should always be taught no matter the age.
The classroom connection to this would be a multitude of things. You can have the students try to grow seeds that have been cooked just to see if it grows. You could give them a history lesson on the kingdoms in China and what an emperor actually does. Another lesson you could give with this would be to ask the students why they think Ping was chosen when he didn’t even have a flower to judge, and relate it back to how they should always tell the truth.
Grade level: K-3, Lexile Measure 630L, DRA: 28 Guided Reading: M
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Oct 14, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: asain, print-form, prek-3, edci-311

The Empty Pot
Tags: Asain, print format, K-3

Summary
The emperor is looking for a new successor, but has a very unique way of finding a new one. Ping, wins the trust of the emperor, through his honesty. The illustrations throughout the book have a Asian flair to them.

Response
I enjoyed this book and the lesson behind it. I enjoyed that Ping put a lot of effort into the plant and even though the plant never grew, he was honest and proud to show it to the emperor. I rate this book with 5 stars using...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Michelle Plucinski rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: elementary-school-teachers, picture-book, print-format, grade-k-3

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Summary
In a Kingdom that loved planting beautiful plants, grew a young boy named Ping. Ping and the whole kingdom loved growing beautiful plants, trees, and fruit trees. When the Emperor realized that his age was becoming an issue, so he knew he needed to find a successor. He gave all the children in the kingdom seeds to grow and in a year they were to bring back what they had grown to the Emperor and he would decide from that. Throughout the year he took care of it, watering, feeding, and putti...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Ciara Alamillo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: flowerpot, flowers, picture-book, china, emperor, empty, k-3

Summary
This is a story about a young Chinese boy who is great at making plants grow. Once he plants a particular flower or even tree it seems to blossom like no other can imagine. When the emperor calls to all the young children to see who can grow the most beautiful flower Ping comes across a problem. Will this ruin his chances of being emperor?
I really did not like the pictures in this book because they were just circles on the pages. Some of the pictures did show some detail in them, but for...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Jacqueline Campos rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all ages

Recommended to Jacqueline by: Kathleen Paciga

Shelves: picture-book, folktale, recommended-grades-k-3, web

Ping is a young boy who is very successful at growing plants and flowers. When the Emperor of China decides to choose his successor by which child can grow the best flower from a seed he gives them, Ping sets out to become the successor. The illustrations in the story help capture how wonderful of a gardener Ping is and the pictures help show his growing disappointment with the empty pot. They also help capture the culture of China.

This book has a lesson embedded into the story which to me was t...more Ping is a young boy who is very successful at growing plants and flowers. When the Emperor of China decides to choose his successor by which child can grow the best flower from a seed he gives them, Ping sets out to become the successor. The illustrations in the story help capture how wonderful of a gardener Ping is and the pictures help show his growing disappointment with the empty pot. They also help capture the culture of China.

This book has a lesson embedded into the story which to me was that honesty always prospers. Since it overtly teaches a lesson I did not give it a fifth star but I did give it four because it holds the other five qualities that TMY states make a book an outstanding piece of children’s literature (TMY, p9, 2011). It talks of China which expands children’s minds to different cultures and it tells the truth. It embodies quality with its words, they are precise and to the point. It is quality work and the illustrations and the story all tie together. Lastly it shows originality.

The message I took from this book was that no matter what you are doing, do it to your best and do not worry about what others are doing. If Ping had let his friend’s pots intimidate him, then he would not have went and showed his empty pot to the Emperor. It is a good lesson on peer pressure. Just because everyone has a different answer does not mean they are correct.

An activity you can use with a class to help them relate to how Ping might have been feeling is “Are You the One” by The Trumpet Club (2001, see http://www.trumpetclub.com/primary/ac...) which is an activity where all your students receive a folded piece but only one has a dot hidden inside, and the person with the dot has to do an unpleasant task. I like this activity because it can be used in all elementary grade levels k-6. I also think this would be a good book to read when learning in social studies about China. It would be a good way to get students to relate what they are learning about the culture and country to what they see in the story and illustrations.

This book is 630 Lexile/GR level M. Appropriate read aloud K+ and for independent reading in the middle of 3rd grade.
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Nov 08, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: multicultural, picture-books

The Empty Pot by Demi demonstrates an authentic experience of a Chinese boy named Ping. The author was not born in China, but her inner perspective of the culture becomes evident in her book. The story takes place in China. The book shows Chinese children and an Emperor. The illustrations are colorful, accurate and true to the time period portrayed, and all details of each illustration are chronologically accurate.

As we read the book it moves us into Ping’s experience on trying so hard to get a...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Alexis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books, my-reviews

A very sweet story with a lesson about honesty and doing the best you can - and accepting that your best is good enough.

The Chinese Emperor is growing old and must choose a successor. He loves flowers more than anything, so he devises a plan to let the flowers decide which child shall be next to rule. A little boy named Ping also loves flowers, and is known for his green thumb. But when the seed the Emperor gives him doesn't grow, he must face what comes next with courage.

The artwork is very p...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Ronyell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-want-to-own, children-books, chinese-books, demi, fairy-tales-folktales, fantasy, favorites, picture-books, read-in-2010, reviewed-books, ronyell-s-epinions-reviews

I have been reading many works by Demi lately and now I wish to share my excitement about a Chinese folktale I have recently read called “The Empty Pot.” “The Empty Pot” is a Chinese folktale by Demi which is about the Emperor of China making a proclamation throughout China that whoever can plant him the most beautiful flower will the successor for his throne. “The Empty Pot” is truly one of the most clever folktales about honesty that was ever created!

A Long time ago in China, there lived a boy...more I have been reading many works by Demi lately and now I wish to share my excitement about a Chinese folktale I have recently read called “The Empty Pot.” “The Empty Pot” is a Chinese folktale by Demi which is about the Emperor of China making a proclamation throughout China that whoever can plant him the most beautiful flower will the successor for his throne. “The Empty Pot” is truly one of the most clever folktales about honesty that was ever created!

A Long time ago in China, there lived a boy named Ping who grew the most beautiful flowers in all of China. Now, Ping was not the only person in China who loved flowers since all the people loved flowers, especially the Emperor. Unfortunately, the Emperor was getting old and he needed a successor for his throne and so he decided to issue a proclamation that whoever can grow the most beautiful flower from the seed he gives out will be the successor to his throne. All the children in the kingdom received their seeds from the Emperor and they all started planting their seeds, including Ping.

Brilliant and beautiful this book is all about! Demi has done an excellent job at both writing and illustrating this book about the importance of being honest with others. What I really loved about this book was how the Emperor used the flower contest as a way of seeing who is worthy of being his successor and I loved the fact that Demi brought out the message that honesty is what makes a good ruler and I totally agree! I also loved the character Ping as he is honest and he tries his hardest to grow a beautiful flower and the honest characteristic is what I loved the most about Ping! Demi's illustrations are just simply beautiful, especially of the images of the blossom trees around China and I also loved the appearances of the children themselves as they are extremely cute and they always wear a smile on their faces, especially at the idea of growing the most beautiful flower to impress the Emperor!

All in all, “The Empty Pot” is a brilliant book about the importance of honesty and anyone who loves Chinese folktales will definitely enjoy this book! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since some of the Chinese names might be a bit hard for smaller children to understand.

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Jan 31, 2011 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: asian, picture-books

Published: 1990, Holt
Age: 6-9
This is the perfect children’s picture book. It is the story of Ping, a Chinese boy who loved to grow flowers. The Emperor also loves flowers and when he needs to find a successor to his throne he challenges the villagers to grow flowers from his special flower seeds. Whoever grows the most exquisite flower will take his place as emperor. All the children bring the emperor beautifully grown flowers except Ping, whose flower will not bloom no matter what he does. Fine...more

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Sep 30, 2009 (NS) Laura Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: multicultural-literature

The Empty Pot was written and illustrated by Demi. It was published by Henry Holt and Company in 1990. The Empty Pot is a wonderful story about a young boy, Ping, who lived in China. Ping loved flowers, and he loved to grow flowers. One day, the Emperor of China declared that he needed to choose a successor. He decided that he was going to let the flowers decide who would be the next Emperor of China. He gave the children of China flower seeds to plant and explained that whoever could show the b...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Ch13_julie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mc-literature

"The Empty Pot" by Demi Hitz is a simple story with a strong message. In this story the Chinese Emperor searches for his successor by putting the children of the land up to a test that will measure their honesty and character. The main character, Ping, struggles to complete the challenge given by the Emperor and is disappointed in himself. "The Empty Pot" is illustrated with beautiful and colorful pictures that portray the Chinese culture in a lovely light. This book would be a great book to use...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-book, print-format, culture

Summary
“The Empty Pot” is the story of Ping, a child who finds that honesty is the more important than winning a competition. The Emperor of China decides to hold a competition for all of the children in the nation. He gives them all a seed and tells them that whoever has the best plant at the end of the competition will be his successor. The illustrations in the book are colorful and seem to show Chinese culture very well. Instead of taking up the whole page, the pictures are inside circles in...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Nicole Gonzalez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: print-format, folktale, k-3, ages-4-9, picture-book

The emperor of China is looking for a worthy successor to take his place. Who shall become the next worthy successor of China? The Chinese emperor has an enormous love for flowers so he decides to call for the children of China and gives them seeds to grow the flower. The one to bring the Chinese emperor the most glorious flower will be chosen as his successor. The author brings the story to life with beautiful illustrations of Chinese gardens. The author illustrates the pictures in large circle...more The emperor of China is looking for a worthy successor to take his place. Who shall become the next worthy successor of China? The Chinese emperor has an enormous love for flowers so he decides to call for the children of China and gives them seeds to grow the flower. The one to bring the Chinese emperor the most glorious flower will be chosen as his successor. The author brings the story to life with beautiful illustrations of Chinese gardens. The author illustrates the pictures in large circles on top of an excellent well-designed baby green background with the storyline displayed below the picture.

I gave this book a five star rating because it has beautiful illustrations that bring the story to life. Not only does the book have beautiful illustrations but it also has great moral values in the story.

The book also meets all 6 criteria of outstanding children's literature (TMY, 2010, p. 9):
It shows integrity
Tells the truth
Has quality
Shows originality
Expands awareness
Enjoyable read

The main message in the book is honesty. I live my life by surrounding myself with people who are honest because it makes my life much easier for me. I have found that it is a waste time trying to be friends with someone who is not honest because they always cause problems. This book made me realize that good things happen to those who are honest.

A writing strategy that could be taught through this book would be to have the students write about a time that they told the truth and were praised greatly for. By doing this the students will feel good about themselves and remember why it is important to tell the truth. Another activity for the low grades would be to define what the word honesty means to them and describe people who they think are honest. By doing this it will show how honesty has empowered their lives. It also will show the students that honest takes you a long way.

Lexile: 630
Guided Reading Level: M
Grade Level: k-3
Independent Reading: middle of third grade
Appropriate Read Aloud: kindergarten and up(less)

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Oct 08, 2012 Milagros Vazquez rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: culture, folktale, picture-book, print-format, k-3

Summary
A boy named Ping loved to grow and tender the flowers. He loved to grow different types of plant. But he wasn’t the only one who loved to grow plants and flowers, everyone in the kingdom loved flowers too. One day the emperor realized that he was old and needed someone else to rule for him. However, he wanted the most faithful and right person to rule. So he let his flower choose. The king gave every child a seed to take care of. All the children did their best to grow their plant. Ping t...more Summary
A boy named Ping loved to grow and tender the flowers. He loved to grow different types of plant. But he wasn’t the only one who loved to grow plants and flowers, everyone in the kingdom loved flowers too. One day the emperor realized that he was old and needed someone else to rule for him. However, he wanted the most faithful and right person to rule. So he let his flower choose. The king gave every child a seed to take care of. All the children did their best to grow their plant. Ping tried to grow his seed but unfortunately he couldn’t grow the seed. The weeks passed, then months and a year. Finally the time came when the king asked all the children to meet him in the kingdom. When they came together, everyone had their best flower except Ping. The king came up to Ping and questioned his plant. Ping looked ashamed and told him the true story of how he tried to grow his plant but it wouldn’t sprout. The king frown turned into a smile. He admitted that the seeds he gave everyone where cooked which was impossible to grow in the first place. Ping became the new emperor of the kingdom because of his honesty.
Response
This book deserves a 5 star rate. I agree on this because it teaches the children and anyone about honesty. I like how it expands the awareness of honesty, and it was an enjoyable reading that doesn’t overly teach and moralize. It tells the truth about how Ping continues to do his best to make the seed grow but in the end it was impossible. I love the pictures; it looks like one of the city in Asia. And everyone wears clothes from their culture. It shows originality, and has integrity, (TMY, 2010, p.9).
I liked Ping honesty, he loved flowers and plant so much, that he did his best not to give hope on growing a seed. In my case, I would have probably given up after two weeks.
Classroom Connection
This book is a great folktale and picture book. I would think that for the subject of social studies, students can look up information about culture in Asia. This book takes place in a village in China, so it would help for students to learn and share facts about the folklore and tales that are told in China. This would also go great for science, students can learn about different types of flowers and plants. In language art the students can study folktale and read some, after reading some the teacher should tell the students to make up their own tale with a moral of honesty.
Text Complexity
This book is lexile 630. The grade level is M. The interest level is K-3. The independent grade level is in the middle of third grade.
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Oct 05, 2011 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books, multi-cultural

I have always really liked The Empty Pot! I read it aloud to my students each year to teach them both the importance of courage and honesty. While I plan to continue this tradition, I also plan on using this text to expand my students awareness to Chinese culture and discuss how the culture is represented in this story.

The Emperor of China, seeks finding is successor. Children are challenged to grow the best flowers in one year with the seeds they receive from the Emperor. Ping, the main charac...more I have always really liked The Empty Pot! I read it aloud to my students each year to teach them both the importance of courage and honesty. While I plan to continue this tradition, I also plan on using this text to expand my students awareness to Chinese culture and discuss how the culture is represented in this story.

The Emperor of China, seeks finding is successor. Children are challenged to grow the best flowers in one year with the seeds they receive from the Emperor. Ping, the main character, puts dedication and hard work into caring for his plant all year long. When it is time to present his pot to the Emperor, he shamefully displays his empty pot while the rest of the children share their pots full of gorgeous flowers. Ping is rewarded with his honesty and is named the next Emperor as the children learn that the seeds they received were cooked and could never grow.

Children's Books in Children's hands state, "Although Demi was not born Chinese, her thoroughness of research is evident, and readers who are Chinese find that her work reflects the perspective of insiders" (Temple, Martinez, Yokota, 114). This is apparent in Demi's illustrations and words. Her illustrations display the architectural design of buildings and style and design of clothing. Demi shows how China has a leader different from the United States called an Emperor as well as how integrity is valued in China. These details are unobtrusive to the story. The only question that I am still pondering is how a child reading this book on their own would know that an emperor's successor is not actually picked based on the seed challenge. This is a great teaching moment for a teacher to use with the book, but will students have misconceptions after reading this book on their own if they are unaware of this fictional part of the story?

I love the illustrations in this book especially the framed circular format. Line is used especially well to show movement like blowing tree branches and moving children. I especially liked the pages when the emperor asks the boy why he brought an empty pot. The only illustration is the emperor and Ping without any background or additional objects. This emptiness helps the reader feel Ping's shame and loneliness since he is the only child with an empty pot.

I look forward to continuing to read this book in my class, while adding an emphasis on the cultural perspective of China. The teachable moments in this book are endless! (less)

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Mar 10, 2011 Beverly rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Empty Pot is about a boy who loves flowers and an emperor who is looking for a child to succeed him. It is a great story about truth and honesty. The emperor gives all the children a seed and tells them the one who has done the best in a year's time will be heir to his throne.

Ping loves flowers and has always been able to grow beautiful ones, but is unable to make the seed grow. After a year has passed all the other children have beautiful flowers, but Ping's pot is still empty. Even though...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Mia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: second-grade, print, picture-book, kindergarden, history, first-grade

The Empty Pot is a story about a young boy named Ping who lives in a kingdom in China where everyone loves flowers. The Emperor gives every child a seed and decides who ever can show their best in a months time will become the new emperor. Ping was disappointed to see that his best was only an empty pot, but was shocked by what the Emperor had to say about it. The illustrations are bright and educate children about Chinese culture.

I gave this book 5 star because of the moral to the story. I thi...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Taylor Munson rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book! The illustrations were beautiful and the text was short, but got to the point. This book teaches a valuable lesson about honesty. The focus on this book was how the emperor loved flowers along with the rest of his community. Eventually, the emperor has to stand down and tells his community the one with the best flowers will take his place. Everyone seems to be making beautiful flowers besides Ping, but in the end he is honest with the emperor and takes the thrown. I thought th...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Madeline Natzke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fable, tradition

After hearing this story for the first time tonight, I truely have a new favorite book. I had never read the story, which is a fable. Fables are always great stories for children to hear because of the valuable lesson behind it. A young boy from China is competing with others to grow the prettiest flowers and become emporeror because the other one is handing down the title. All of his friends grow beautiful flowers and he cannot. When he goes to the emporor he is crying. Turns out, he is the onl...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Alexandria Owens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: social-emotional, social-character

I really like this book because it is a really good read and I think that every child should read this. This book teaches children about honesty and learning how to tell the truth no matter what. The little boy Ping, in the book wants to become the next heir to the throne and is the only child that tells the truth about his seed. Also, this book has nice illustrations of plants and could be used to talk about China to young children.

Learning Experience: Hand out a cut out of a pot to each child...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Acton added it

Shelves: acton-academy

This story starts with an emperor who is too old to be the emperor any more so he needs somebody else to rule for him. In this story, the way he chooses is that he gives each child a seed and tells them to plant the seed and whoever grows the tallest and most beautiful flower in a year's time will get to be the emperor. All the children except for Ping, get a new seed and grow flowers, but they do not get to be the emperor. Only Ping is not able to grow a flower. He is courageous and brings his...more

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May 21, 2009 Shanna Gonzalez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-04-08

A wonderful story about the importance of telling the truth. Ping is the subject of a Chinese emperor who is exceptionally gifted at growing things. When it is time for the old king to choose his successor, he tests the children of the land by giving them each a seed to cultivate and bring to him within a year. Ping is unable to get this seed of all seeds to grow, and brings his empty pot to the king, whereupon the king reveals his wisdom in a surprise ending.

This is an aesthetic, moral story wi...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: multi-cultural, science, social-emotional, social-studies

I love the wonderful moral to this story! Ping being rewarded for his honesty is a great story line! The pictures were well drawn with great attention to detail. The colors match well and the expressions of the characters were very engaging. The only thing I did not like about this book was that the story line would be a little hard for small children to follow. I would definitely stick with a slightly older age group for this book.

Learning Experience:
We would use this book for a science experi...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Sheeba Virani rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: feelings, morals-and-values

Wow, one of the best children's books that I have read! This book emphasizes the fact that it is important to do your best always. If you have honestly worked hard and tried your best you will succeed. It shows children how honesty and perseverance pays off for the little boy Ping and makes him emperor. It helps children understand the value of truth, hard work and courage.

Extension- Provide children with a small foam cup each labelled with their name. Help them plant some flower seeds. Explain...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Kristina Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: prek-2, print-format, plants, chinese-culture, honesty, integrity, folktale, picture-book

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a story about a boy named Ping who loved flowers. He could make anything grow beautifully. The Emperor was getting old and could no longer be the Emperor and he need to choose someone to replace him. The Emperor decided because he loved flowers so much that he would choose a new emperor by "whoever can show me their best in a year's team." He gave the children pots with a special flower seed and in a year the children would bring them back to him and whomever had the pot that was the bes...more This is a story about a boy named Ping who loved flowers. He could make anything grow beautifully. The Emperor was getting old and could no longer be the Emperor and he need to choose someone to replace him. The Emperor decided because he loved flowers so much that he would choose a new emperor by "whoever can show me their best in a year's team." He gave the children pots with a special flower seed and in a year the children would bring them back to him and whomever had the pot that was the best would be chosen as the new emperor. Ping was very excited because he knew that he could make anything grow. The weeks and months passed on and Ping had nothing to show. No matter what he did to try to make his special seed grow, nothing happened. After the year was up, Ping and all the other children brought their pots back to the Emperor. Ping was so upset to see that all the other children had beautiful flowers in their pots and Ping had nothing. The Emperor was very surprised that all the children had flowers because the seeds he gave them all had been cooked and wouldn't be able to bloom. The Emperor admired Ping for his honesty and courage that he awarded Ping as the new Emperor of the land.

I really like the statement on the last page of the book. "I admire Ping's great courage to appear before me with the empty truth, and now I reward him with my entire kingdom and make him Emperor of all the land!" This is such a great lesson to teach children after reading this story. It says to me that if you do the right thing, if you are honest, and even if things don't turn out how you expected them to, you shall be rewarded. This can teach children that they don't need to lie or cheat to get what they want. If they just tell the truth and do as they are asked then things will work out as they are supposed to. Sometimes you may not see it in the beginning, but it will eventually work out.

A classroom connection that can be made with this could be a science lesson. I think most children love to play in dirt or love to help grow flowers. This book can be read during a science lesson about how plants grow. The different parts of the plant can be taught. They children can even plant their own seeds and see how they grow in the classroom.

Lexile: 630
Guided Reading: M
PreK- 2nd grade(less)

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Oct 23, 2012 Stephanie Gulliver rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-books, k-3

Summary: The Empty Pot is a children’s story about Ping, a young boy who loves to grow beautiful flowers. One day the Emperor decided to choose his successor by choosing a plant that each child in the kingdom had grown. Ping had been so good at growing flowers, until he tried to grow for the emperor. He appeared before him with an empty pot full of dirt. The pictures in this book are beautiful, especially when showing the flowers. It is not a simple illustration, but something very detailed.
Resp...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Maryann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: picture-book, lesson, award-winning

Summary:
The Empty Pot tells the story of a boy whose honesty and courage is praised and rewarded. Ping is a boy who has a passion for planting and taking care of flowers. He spends his days caring for his garden and pots of flowers. One day the emperor challenges all the boys in the kingdom to grow the most beautiful plant, and the boy the grows the most beautiful plant will be the next emperor. When Ping receives his seed, he is beyond excited to grow the most beautiful plant of all. For the n...more Summary:
The Empty Pot tells the story of a boy whose honesty and courage is praised and rewarded. Ping is a boy who has a passion for planting and taking care of flowers. He spends his days caring for his garden and pots of flowers. One day the emperor challenges all the boys in the kingdom to grow the most beautiful plant, and the boy the grows the most beautiful plant will be the next emperor. When Ping receives his seed, he is beyond excited to grow the most beautiful plant of all. For the next year Ping works hard to get his pot to grow a beautiful flower, but nothing grows. Ping tries everything but is forced to bring an empty pot to the emperor. When all the other boys present beautiful flowers and plants to the emperor, the emperor looks discouraged. When Ping presents an empty pot the emperor is thrilled and rewards him and makes him the emperor. Everyone is confused when Ping’s empty pot is praised. The emperor explains that the seeds he gave to everyone were baked, and could not grow. Ping is the only boy who was honest and had the courage to present an empty pot to the emperor.

Response:
I absolutely loved the story The Empty Pot. It deserves five stars because it is a children’s book that “tells the truth” and according to our textbook a quality of an outstanding children’s book is that it tells the truth. When children read the story of Ping they will be reminded of the importance of being honest. All the other boys in the kingdom lied and switched their seeds, where Ping didn’t and he was chosen to be emperor because of it. The illustrations were beautiful and overall the lesson in the story is an important one for children.

Classroom Connection:
The story of Ping would be a great story to read when discussing the importance of being honest and true. As a teacher you can use the story of Ping to show an example of why it is always best to tell the truth. Another lesson that The Empty Pot teaches its readers is to have courage. Ping had the courage to present an empty pot to the emperor, when all the other boys didn’t. The students can do an activity where they talk about times when they got rewarded for telling the truth.

Text Complexity:
Interest Level: Grades K – 3
Grade level Equivalent: 3.5
Lexile Measure: 630L
Guided Reading: M
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Feb 14, 2012 Nadya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: honesty, courage

Review: I really enjoyed this book because it had a different culture -China in the story. The concept was courage and honesty. It helps to teach children that in the end we are rewarded for being honest and doing well. The illustrations are wonderful in this story and bring the book to life.

Learning Experience: A good learning experience with this book, The Empty Pot is to get mini pots for the children to decorate on the outside and give each child a seed to grow in their pot.
The children sh...more

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Life Lesson: Honesty is the best policy	2	5	Sep 16, 2012 05:14pm
MCC Children's Li...: The Empty Pot	1	1	Mar 06, 2012 01:20am

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Childrens > Picture Books

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Childrens

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Cultural

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Cultural > China

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Historical Fiction

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Culture

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Folklore

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Inspirational

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Gardening

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Literature > Asian Literature

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About Demi

Born as Charlotte Dumaresq Hunt, September 2, 1942, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, married John Rawlins Hitz (a teacher and writer), December 18, 1965 (marriage ended); married Tze Si (Jesse) Huang; children: (first marriage) John.

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