The Empty Pot

About the Author Demi, along with her husband, Tze-si Huang, has been a practicing Buddhist for more than twenty years. She is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including Firebird, The Dalai Lama, Buddha, and The Dragon’s Tale. Her book The Empty Pot was selected by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1990 as one of the books to be read on the ABC Radio Network Program Mrs. Bush's Story Time. Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and started drawing at an early age. She lives in Carnation, Washington. Product Description The Empty Pot is Demi's beloved picture book about an honest schoolboy A long time ago in China there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers. Anything he planted burst into bloom. The Emperor loved flowers too. When it was time to choose an heir, he gave a flower seed to each child in the kingdom. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time," he proclaimed, "shall succeed me to the throne!" Ping plants his seed and tends it every day. But month after month passes, and nothing grows. When spring comes, Ping must go to the Emperor with nothing but an empty pot. Demi's exquisite art and beautifully simple text show how Ping's embarrassing failure is turned triumphant in this satisfying tale of honesty rewarded. An IRA-CBC Children's Choice. An American Bookseller "Pick of the Lists." From Publishers Weekly A Chinese boy with an green thumb wins the emperor's competition; PW praised the "extraordinarily delicate Oriental landscapes." Ages 4-7. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review “When the Chinese Emperor announces an unusual test to choose an heir--the child who raises the best flowers from a seed given by the Emperor will be his successor--Ping, unaccountably, is unable to get his seed to sprout. . . . A lovely story, well told and most attractively presented.” ―Kirkus Reviews, pointer “A beautifully crafted book that will be enjoyed as much for the richness of its illustrations as the simplicity of its story.” ―School Library Journal