Summary
This story takes place in China. Ping was a young boy who always grew lovely plants and flowers. The Emperor decided that it was time to find a successor, so he gave each child special flower seeds. Ping planted his seed but it would not grow. A year later, everyone had beautiful flowers to present to the Emperor except for Ping. He had an empty pot. The Emperor had given each child cooked seeds that should not have grown. He was impressed by Ping’s honesty and made him the successor.
Response
This book deserves a five star rating. This book validates the old saying, “Honesty is the best policy.” In the story, the Emperor loved flowers, but he was actually searching for something more beautiful than flowers.
He was searching for an honest heart. It took courage to come before the Emperor with the empty pot, but Ping brought exactly what the Emperor was looking for. I love this story because I believe that people should strive to be honest every day.
I have told people that it’s best to tell the truth first because it saves you from those awkward feelings that you feel between the time that you told the lie and the time that you get caught in the lie. Those other children and parents could have been nervous and uneasy because they knew that they did something sneaky and was trying to fool the Emperor.
Ping’s father gave him good advice when he told Ping that he did his best and to take the Emperor his best.
It’s best to tell the truth, even when it hurts. A lie can damage your reputation and no one would want to trust you. The Emperor frowned at the children with the beautiful flowers. He could not trust them to bring back the seed he had given them, so he absolutely could not trust them to be his successor.
I remember a situation from my childhood, when I used to attend a daycare. I was walking and foot got caught on a cord and I knocked the television down in the play room. When the daycare owner asked about the television, I explained what happened. The television was not broken, but I felt a little embarrassed. One of the younger kids was watching the entire time. He said to me, “Wow, you told the truth!” I felt better knowing that I did the right thing and set a great example.
Classroom Connection
I feel that this book would work best as a class discussion. This book has a very important lesson in it. It would be excellent if every student told the truth, but reality is that may not happen.
Reading stories like this one could help us teach children that it is good to tell the truth and live an honest life. Ping had grown other flowers and he could have easily brought one of those to the Emperor to blend in with the crowd, but he stood alone with his empty pot.
Children need to understand that they shouldn’t follow their friends who are not doing right, and it’s ok to be alone if you are doing the right thing.
Text Complexity
This book is a 630 Lexile/ GR level M. It is appropriate for grades K to 3rd.
- Goodreads rating – 4.43
- SUMMARY – Ava