is
a well known Australian artist & illustrator with extremely quirky
and original concepts which have an edge of pathos to them.
Many of his books have been made into short films and theatre productions.
(A little bit like Brian Selznick ("Hugo"),
in that his books are celebrations of story telling through illustration,
although Tan seems to be living/working in/with
much more fantastical worlds).
Some of my favourite of his books would have to be
"The Lost Thing",
"The Arrival"
and
"What Miscellaneous Abnormality is that?- a field guide"
If you haven't seen his work before
head over to his website at
to discover a little bit about him.
Oh I love children's books and I've heard of Shaun Tan, but as my sons are now adults, I'm a bit out of touch. Thanks for this - I will check his books out.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen, I hope you'll find a few layers in his books if you get to read them. Definitely as much for adults to explore as children I think.
DeleteI agree, his work is quirky, original and well crafted.
ReplyDeleteAs with all the best childrens book Shaun Tan's are written on two levels. The Arrivals is a fantastic wordless piece of storytelling about why people can become refugees and what can happen to them.
One of the double page spreads in The Rabbits (written by John Marsden, illustrated by Shaun Tan) makes me feel cold whenever I read it. If anyone doesn't know his work and is interested in illustration he is definitely worth following up
Hey Jac, I haven't read "The Rabbits" will have to find a copy to explore. Thanks for the heads up. Glad you're a fellow enjoyee of the Tan's work.
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