Shaun Tan

One of our family favorites. It spans ages and attention spans, so is an excellent permanent addition to a library. I find it a fascinating example of a story told best with pictures. Tan communicates perfectly the confusion and loneliness and wonder of a man in a new country. It's hopeful and full of insight for children who understand living in a new culture, and also for those who have never experienced a different culture. I love to share it with reluctant readers, and also for those who show more dismiss graphic novels entirely. show less

Ok, this book is so beautiful that I want to eat it. I want the images to live inside my eyes, so that I can see them when I close the lids. I want to touch the art, to reread the concise and lovely fairy tale retellings, to stare in fascination at the changing backgrounds, which transform the interior of the book to a literal window on another world.

I have always loved Inuit/ Alaska Native/ South American/ Primitive African art, but in loving the forms have felt the lack of the story in my show more ignorant outsider view. Tan's brilliant sculptures bring the stories I have always loved and treasured into harmonious interpretation, where form and tale combine.

Also, da-yamn, I never realized that one could do that with paper clay. It makes sense to me, but it's still masterful. show less

"sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to," begins this stunning picture book, which - with its flawless blend of text and picture - expresses the reality of depression better than any other book I have seen. Each page adds another simple sentence, and another complex layer of emotion, to this unfolding story of despair. The pessimism of the opening line is followed by a descent into hopelessness, a sense of overwhelming darkness, and the conviction that it is futile to show more attempt to either understand or be understood. The loneliness of living in a world that feels like "a deaf machine," the horrifying feeling of being trapped in a place "without sense or reason," and the terrible sense that this downward spiral is somehow inevitable and inescapable, lead the narrator into a place of almost-total isolation. She has become lost, not just from the world around her, but from herself... And then an extraordinary thing happens - something that has been with her all throughout her journey is revealed - and she learns that nothing is lost...

It is difficult for me to describe just how perfectly Shaun Tan's illustrations complement the brief text in this picture book. They are both beautiful and terrifying, but most importantly, they are TRUE. The combination of word and image evokes a powerful emotional response, and although hope does surface at the end, it is Tan's depiction of depression that resonates the longest. I was so moved by this book that I bought a copy for my sister. I wanted her to understand what I meant when I tried to describe depression as less of a "feeling" of sadness, than as a "state" in which the soul itself becomes weary... show less

I don't really know what kids would think of this book. The story is a little hard to find, and the pictures are surreal and occasionally dark in tone. But I honestly don't care. Because I loved this book. I, in all my adultness, looking back on years of being an older sibling---of competition and confidences; of hair-pulling, nail-scratching slug-fests and standing shoulder-to-shoulder against all comers; of trading cruel, cutting words and whispering about crushes; of jealousy and dreams; show more of dismissive judgment and traversing imaginary worlds together---I loved this book.

I remember being that older boy, full of arbitrary assertions and grand plans, quick to lose my temper when my younger siblings failed to do as I wished...and just as quick to protect them from anyone who tried to hurt them. And I remember being that younger boy, confused, shut out, clumsy and annoying in my eagerness to participate, but so ready to forgive any wrong. I've injured and been injured by my siblings...and I know what it's like to stand in a stark winter of my life and know that the only ones coming for me are them.

This book, with its handful of words, its submerged story, its enigmatic, fanciful illustrations, holds a mirror to its reader and invites him or her to recognize themselves and their siblings within the pages. And because of that, I will always find something honest, something worthy of thought and consideration, each time I read it. show less