The Empty Pot

The story extols the virtue of honesty and takes place “a long time ago in China.” A Chinese emperor, and lover of nature, wildlife and especially flowers, decides to find his successor by holding a contest seemingly to see who can grow the most beautiful flower—“their best”—within a

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year, from seeds he provides. A boy named Ping, who does grow remarkable flowers, cannot get anything to grow from the seed given to him by the Emperor. All of the other children bring pots blooming with beautiful flowers. The universal implication of “honesty is the best policy” is revealed in this simple story when Ping pleases the Emperor by confessing he could not grow a flower from his seed. The Emperor announces that all of the seeds were damaged to begin with, but Ping was the only one to not cheat and use another seed, thereby proving himself a worthy successor.

The story is vividly enhanced by the delicate illustrations, showing a variety of flowers in the children’s pots and the Chinese landscape. Memorable quote from Ping’s father: “You did your best, and your best is good enough to present to the Emperor.” Target audience K-2nd grade.

Demi, . (1996). The empty pot. New York: H. Holt.

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This is a wonderful tale of a boy with a green thumb in China. The emperor loves flowers and decides to have all the children plant a seed and bring him the plant in a year, he will then chose who will become the next emperor. Although Ping usually grows flowers with great ease, his seed will not

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grow. His father encourages his to take the empty pot anyway. It turns out that all the seeds were bad, yet Ping was the only honest child who brought back the empty pot and was named emperor.

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Ping is a little boy who has a gift for growing plants, especially flowers. The Emperor of China asks for all the children to come to the palace and gives them each a flower seed. He explains to them that whoever can grow the best flower from the seed he has given them in a year they will become

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the successor to the throne. Ping tends and cares to his seed all year long, but is surprised to see that nothing has grown in his flower pot. A dishearten Ping takes his empty pot to the Emperor and is rewarded for his honesty.

I believe what makes this book so interesting is how the illustrator choose to display the pictures in a circle on the center of each page.

Extension Ideas
1. Have each student plant a seed in a styrofoam cup and measure the plant’s growth each week over the course of at least 4-6 weeks. Then have them document their recordings on a sheet of graph paper.

2. Have students research what the climate is like in China during fall, spring, winter, and summer. Then as a class using a Vin diagram for each season compare and contrast China’s climate to our own.

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Part Ca
Demi. (1990). The empty pot. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Ping is a boy who lives in China. The emperor needs to choose a successor to the throne. So he decides to choose by using flowers. He gives all of the boys and girls seeds to plant and one year. The child with the most beautiful

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flower will become the next emperor. Ping plants his seeds and nothing grows. He does many things to try and get his seeds to grow. But in a year’s time, he returns with an empty pot. All of the other children have beautiful flowers. The emperor chooses Ping to be the next emperor because he had cooked the seeds and his empty pot proved that he was the only one worthy of being an emperor. The unique feature of this tale is the tale’s message. Ping is rewarded for his honesty.

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The Empty Pot is a tale from Chinese folklore exquisitely drawn and interpreted by Demi. The protagonist is Ping, a young boy with a gift for gardening. Ping and all the other children of the kingdom are given flower seeds by the elderly Emperor for a competition to “show their best in a year’s

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time” to succeed the emperor to the throne. Ping painstakingly tends the seed for a year, but the seed fails to grow into a flower. Ping is afraid to bring the empty pot to the Emperor, but his father tells him to go because, “You did your best, and your best is good enough to present to the Emperor.” Ping cries as he presents his pot to the Emperor because all the other children have beautiful flowers, but the Emperor smiles and says, “I have found the one person worthy of being Emperor!” The seeds the Emperor gave to the children had been cooked and could not grow; thus Ping’s honesty and courage are rewarded. Demi’s illustrations, meticulously rendered ink drawings in oval panels in the style of Chinese paintings, relate the parable of honest labor and courage rewarded in gentle and contemplative manner.

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The Emperor seeks a successor by holding a contest to see who can grow the best flower from the seeds he distributes. Only one child dares to tell the truth and present an empty pot, not knowing that all of the seeds were cooked and therefore useless. A lovely, well-illustrated fable about

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integrity and honesty.

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A lovely story with beautiful art that has a moral message that will appeal to children.

The Empty Pot is the story of an emperor in China who decides to search for his successor by testing the children in the country. The emperor gives all the children seeds and tells them whoever can grow the most beautiful flower in a years time will take his place but he secretly cooked the seeds

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so they wouldn't grow. The young boy Ping is the only one who is honest at the end of the year and brings the emperor an empty pot and for that Ping is rewarded. I loved this book because it was a unique tale I had not heard and the book has beautiful illustrations. I would absolutely want to use this book in my teaching to explain why trying your best is all you can do, the importance of honesty, and as an example if we were discussing multiculturalism. The book is appropriate for Grades K-3.

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A lovely story teaching honesty is the best policy.

The Empty Pot by Demi pays fastidious, beautiful homage to the art of Chinese prints, fabrics and patterns. As with much of Chinese art it manages to be incredibly ornate, while somehow simplifying each image to the barest representation of its focus. This is true of the story as well, a tale of a

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young boy whose nurturing nature, and brave honesty is rewarded.

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Ping loved flowers and he loved to plant them. One day the Emperor decided he needed to choose a successor because he was growing to old. Being that he loved flowers he was going to let them decide. He called for all the children to come to palace to receive special flower seeds. Whoever had the

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best in a year will become the successor. When ping got his seed him planted it so carefully and made sure it was perfect. He took such good care of the seed but as days went by nothing grew. Ping was very concerned and changed the pot and seed thinking this would help. A year went by and Ping only had an empty pot to show to the Emperor. When the Emperor saw Ping he asked why he brought an empty pot. Ping told him what happened and the Emperor smiled. He told him that all the seeds were cooked so they could not grow. Because of Ping's courage he made him the Emperor. This is a great book to teach children you should always tell the truth. It shows them that honesty is rewarded with good things.

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This is one of my favorite books. This book is about this flower Emperor who wants to find a child to take over his flower empire. The Emperor decides to give every child a seed and see who can grow the best flower and become the next flower Emperor. This child named Ping, tried very hard to plant

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this seed, yet there is not a flower after months of trying. I wish I can keep telling the story, but it was a great story and I do not want to spoil it. Just read it, it is worth it.
This book informed that one of the most important elements in our daily bases is honesty.
It also has different drawing styles compared to many other story books. It gave a very cool Chinese theme.
The empty pot will fit good for 2nd grade to 6th grade. I believe it is still powerful for adult as well.

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This is about the Emperor of China, who has a love for flowers, choosing his successor by saying that whoever could grow the best flower in a year would be chosen. Ping, a young boy with a love for flowers, tries and tries to grow his flower and nothing he does makes it grow, and presents his empty

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pot to the Emperor. He is chosen because none of the seeds should have been able to grow and all the other children had brought flowers. This story teaches about honesty and trying your best. I would use this is my classroom for grades 2-4.

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"The Empty Pot" is about an emperor who is trying to find a successor, so he comes up with a plan. He gives the children of the empire a seed and whomever can show him the most impressive flower after a year wins. One specific little boy tended to his seed very carefully. He continually tried to

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make something grow but nothing worked. In the end he brought his empty pot to the emperor while everyone else brought huge stunning flowers. The emperor was disappointed by all the flowers but when he saw the boy's empty pot he smiled and appointed the boy his successor, for the emperor had cooked all of the seeds so none of them should've grown.

I would use this in my classroom to help teach honesty and integrity. In the story the little boy's dad says that he did his best and that's all that mattered. I would like to instill that kind of belief in my students as well.

Recommended age group: 6 -9 years

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This is a great book for all ages. The lesson of "Honesty" and "Do Your Best" are great for children. The pictures in the book also add to the story very well.

The Empty Pot tells the story of little Ping who is given a challenge with a reward that is too great to be true. This book had wonderful illustrations and a great story about honesty and I would use it in my classroom to promote honesty. This book would be good for the grades 1-3.

The Empty Pot is a morality tale where Ping, a Chinese boy with a green thumb, is challenged by the Emperor along with all the other children of the land to grow the best plant from special flower seeds in order to determine the next ruler. Ping tries his very best but his seeds do not grow into a

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plant and although he is humbled, he brings a barren pot before the Emperor as show of honesty while the other children display fully bloomed plants. The Emperor then reveals he has cooked the seeds ahead of time as a test to their truthfulness and because Ping did not deceive the leader, he has proven himself as the most honorable competitor and is rewarded by being named the next Emperor.
Demi does not mention or provide a citation for the original source of the folktale. The plot is simple and direct and I would recommend it to students in grades K-5. The theme of honesty is clearly portrayed. Demi's illustrations are beautiful and provide readers with a glimpse of old Chinese culture. Moral and cultural norms can be understood by children of all nationalities.

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The Empty Pot is about a little boy who tries to grow a flower in a competition to see who will be the next king.

I like this book because it is different than what I have read and it would be a great book to use for teaching about different cultures.

I believe this book would be suitable for 2nd

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or 3rd grade. The theme of the book is honesty.

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A modern elementary school favorite to read aloud, shows that honesty and integrity makes a great leader, not having the best "stuff."

This story is a delight to read to even your most impatient readers, the picture to word ratio is well off. Full of beautiful illustrations to keep the readers engaged. It also opens up for discussions and questions pertaining to honesty, integrity, and honor. Can be read to preschool-3rd grade.

The emperor wanted to select the next emperor from children in the kingdom. So he gave all the chidren a cooked seeds but didn't let them know.He said who could plant the most beautiful plants who will be the next emperor.Finally he chose the one who held an empty pot because the boy was honest.
IT

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tells children that to be honest is very important.3-6

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Summary:
This is the story of a young Chinese boy, Ping. He was presented with a seed from the emperor, who was looking for a successor. Ping took his seed home and tended to it everyday. Nothing grew. He then changed flower pots and soil. Still, nothing grew. After a whole year, it was time to

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return to the palace with all the other children who had seeds. All his friends had large, beautiful flowers. When the emperor saw these, he was saddened. As he walked around, he saw Ping and his empty pot. The emperor asked him why he had presented him with an empty pot. Ping cried as he explained that he had tended to his seed and nothing would grow. At this point, the emperor smiled. He had found his successor. The emperor had cooked all the seeds before handing them out. The other children had switched seeds!
Personal Reaction:
A story of the positive things that happen when you tell the truth! This story could have easily shared the same message using any cultural base. Having it told in terms of the Chinese culture gave it a fresh look, making it all the more powerful.
Extension Ideas:
1. Give students a seed to grow into a beautiful flower.
2. Tell a story about a time telling the truth led to a greater reward.
3. Describe the role of an emperor.

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This book was great for giving students the opportunity to learn about trust. Since Ping worked and worked to make his plant grow but still nothing grew. He still went and told the emperor that nothing grew. This was all he was looking for in a person to take over the kingdom. The Empty Pot allows

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students to see an example of hard work and perseverance. Perseverance could be applied to school tasks also. Overall this book was very good!

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The Empty Pot is a short story about a little boy trying to grow a flower to become emperor. Ping, the little boy, is a talented gardener usually, but as he attempts to grow this flower it doesn't work. The story has a moral of being honest and has a different way of getting the point across. In

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the classroom this book could be used for elementary students studying different cultures. It could also transfer into some really cool art or science lessons. Possibly, creating flower art or actually growing the flowers. I think that students would really enjoy the art in the book and the extension lessons that could come about.

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