#Booky100Keepers Day 31: "The Books of Shaun Tan"

What can we possibly write about Shaun Tan's books that could do them proper justice? We originally discovered his books nestling in the children's book section of our local library, back at a time when C was probably way too young for them - but we became completely hypnotised by Shaun's ability to produce the most atmospheric, evocative and gorgeous stories - quite often with the most minimal word counts - or with no words at all.

We started out with "The Arrival" - Now universally recognised as one of the finest children's books ever created - though really it's not a children's book per se, it most certainly is a book that children can enjoy but every age group will come away with something different from it.

For me, it is as good a description of what it feels like to be a migrant as anything else you'll ever see. Entirely (and intentionally) wordless, much like the hero in the story it conveys its message and communicates on so many levels purely through illustration. It's fair to say that there's just nothing else like it out there, as it deftly brings home its message of what it feels like to be a stranger in a strange land, but more importantly, the sacrifice it takes to leave everything you love behind moving from the country of your birth to somewhere else and not knowing what you're going to find when you get there.

If (like us) you read, and re-read your books again and again and again there'll always be one scene in your favourites that puts icy fingers up and down your spine and for us it's this one...


The frame immediately preceding it (the face of the man telling the story of his own flight from terror in his own country, relating his tale to the central character - based on Tan himself) is equally powerful, the thousand yard stare of the man telling the story is sobering, heart breaking. It's undermined only slightly when you read the accompanying process book (Sketches from a Nameless Land) and find out that this images was largely compiled from photographs of Shaun prancing around in his lounge wearing a pair of his dad's overalls and waving a weed whacker around.

We've covered many of Shaun's books on the blog including those where he's collaborated with others, such as "The Rabbits" (with John Marsden):

This time flipping migration on its head, and relating a tale of invasion by an all-conquering species of rabbit, trampling and strip-mining the land, displacing the indigenous creatures that live there.

Again it's one of those books that ramps up the tension - and the powerful imagery - with each turn of the page until you're left in no doubt about what this is an allegory for.

Having the luxury of being able to introduce this stuff to C at an early age means that she can fully undersand and digest these topics when they come up in real and actual history and sociology lessons at school, in fact a great many of Tan's books do (thankfully) find their way into teaching plans as part of those lessons - fictional representations though they may be, their core messages are just as grounded in the real world as any historical account.

"The Red Tree" is also a firm favourite. This time it's just Shaun himself writing and illustrating a book about a subject that we've seen dealt with many times in kidlit, not often as successfully and as symbolically as here...

These (and many others) by Shaun are the sort of books I wish I'd had as a kid, sometimes dancing deftly between surreal imagery, but always with something important and relevant to say, making them instantly timeless.

In the case of "The Red Tree" again it's encouraging to hear mental health professionals talk about how important this book is, particularly for younger children who lack the vocabulary or the language to explain what they're going through, but can entirely relate to a more visual (perhaps overtly metaphorical) way of doing so.

Shaun's art style feels like it's constantly evolving, from the semi-photographic and realistic art in "The Arrival" through to his more surreal and painterly work - again as interesting for C (who absolutely loves examining art styles and methods of producing illustration as much as I do).

One last book worthy of note was also the last Shaun Tan book we were sent for review - each and every single one has been lovingly kept, but this one spoke to me directly for many reasons...

"Cicada" spoke volumes about what it's like to live your life as one thing, when in your dreams you live your life entirely differently. The cute little bug in this story is the epitome of a white collar worker (like me) and works for a largely thankless boss, abused by colleagues, but with a piece of knowledge buried deep - that one day there will be an escape from the drudgery of work, and on that day you'll feel transformed. Ever heard the song "Dignity" by Deacon Blue? Yeah this feels a lot like that, in book form.

It's wonderful, surreal, at times higlights how cruel the world is but ultimately triumphant.

We can't get enough of Shaun's work, whether it's his own author-illustrated stuff, or work he's illustrated for others. Without a doubt one of the most important creatives in the world today.

Original Review Links:

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 10th January 2014 - "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

ReaditDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 3rd October 2014 - "Sketches from a Nameless Land" - The Art of 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 22nd November 2013 - "The Rules of Summer" by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

The Bird King (and other sketches) by Shaun Tan (Templar Books)

Tales of Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Templar Books)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 16th November 2018: "Cicada" by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 1st Feb 2013 - "Eric" by Shaun Tan (Templar Books)

Memorial by Gary Crew and Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

The Rabbits by John Marsden and Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)

The Viewer by Gary Crew and Shaun Tan (Hodder Children's Books)