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mehsi's review against another edition
4.0
Een hit en miss bundel van verhalen over een stad (of steden) en dieren. Van orkas in de lucht tot een haai zo groot als een wijk tot kikkers die eerst directieleden waren tot vissen van de maan. Van alles komt voorbij en het was echt magisch om te lezen, wat een fantasie heeft deze schrijver. Alleen vond ik sommige verhalen erg langdradig (en soms ook gewoon net iets te vreemd) en ik merkte vaak dat ik gewoon mijn aandacht verloor.
Er was een ding dat mij steeds blij maakte.. en dat waren de prachtige illustraties. Mijn hemel, wat een talent. Echt ik genoot telkens weer van de illustraties en soms keek ik er nog een tijdje na want je bleef iets ontdekken.
Er was een ding dat mij steeds blij maakte.. en dat waren de prachtige illustraties. Mijn hemel, wat een talent. Echt ik genoot telkens weer van de illustraties en soms keek ik er nog een tijdje na want je bleef iets ontdekken.
katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Moving and beautiful set of city-set animal/ecology sketches.
4.5 stars.
Shaun Tan's picture books are exquisite, often profound. This is for older readers, and has serious points to make in its series of vignettes that take place in an anonymous city.
Some worked wonderfully well, poignant stories of human interactions with animals, of greed, thoughtlessness, sadness, love. A few went over my head and I didn't enjoy, but the vast majority were poetic and some even heart-breaking.
My favourites were the short but perfect 'Rhino' and the 'Cat'. The book is over 200 pages but around half of that is illustration, full page, colour, just spectacular.
There is so much here for children, teens and adults to discuss and digest. Issues of human materialism, ecological ruin, animal welfare and preservation... But it won't be easy to access for any reader. The imagery is quite mature, the language rich.
I would suggest ages 10 and over, but selected students ideally. A treasure trove of a book for the right readers.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy.
4.5 stars.
Shaun Tan's picture books are exquisite, often profound. This is for older readers, and has serious points to make in its series of vignettes that take place in an anonymous city.
Some worked wonderfully well, poignant stories of human interactions with animals, of greed, thoughtlessness, sadness, love. A few went over my head and I didn't enjoy, but the vast majority were poetic and some even heart-breaking.
My favourites were the short but perfect 'Rhino' and the 'Cat'. The book is over 200 pages but around half of that is illustration, full page, colour, just spectacular.
There is so much here for children, teens and adults to discuss and digest. Issues of human materialism, ecological ruin, animal welfare and preservation... But it won't be easy to access for any reader. The imagery is quite mature, the language rich.
I would suggest ages 10 and over, but selected students ideally. A treasure trove of a book for the right readers.
With thanks to Walker Books for the sample reading copy.
emerentina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
2.75
katherinevarga's review against another edition
I love the premise and execution of this book: speculative flash fiction and a few poems interspersed with gorgeous full-page artwork, each imagining an animal within a city where humans' dependency on, and destruction of, nature is made literal and immediate and intimate.
The stories were hit-or-miss for me, a few being too pessimistic or uneventful for my tastes. The hits were very strong, and if I ever teach flash fiction I'd consider using them as examples (my favorites were cat, bear, and tiger). The visuals throughout are stunning. IDK how artists do it.
The stories were hit-or-miss for me, a few being too pessimistic or uneventful for my tastes. The hits were very strong, and if I ever teach flash fiction I'd consider using them as examples (my favorites were cat, bear, and tiger). The visuals throughout are stunning. IDK how artists do it.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
5.0
Shaun Tans Geschichten sind auf der Oberfläche zwar leise und unaufgeregt, aber schnell wird deutlich wie gut der Autor und Illustrator unser Verhältnis zu Tieren eingefangen hat, sei es der leichte Ekel vor Schnecken oder die Verzweiflung über eine verlorene Katze. Jede einzelne Geschichte ist auf ihre Art berührend und regt zum Nachdenken an. Subtil wird Kritik an uns Menschen geübt: wie wir Tiere ausrotten und ausnutzen, so sehr, dass es schon alltäglich geworden ist und uns kaum noch auffällt, so wie das dahinschwindenden Schwein, das in einer Geschichte im Hinterzimmer jedes Hauses sitzt oder der Orcawal, der vom Meer in den Himmel umgesiedelt wurde. Moralische Belehrungen bleiben aus, denn die melancholischen Geschichten und Bilder sprechen für sich selbst.
All das findet in einem für Tiere ungewöhnlichen Umfeld statt, nämlich der Stadt, was zu sehr kreativen Kombinationen führt. Da begegnen einem schon mal Frösche im Konferenzraum oder Bären im Gerichtssaal. Durch diese Kombination wird gleichzeitig eine Verknüpfung zwischen urbanem Leben und der Rückbesinnung zur Natur geschaffen. Wir sind ständig so voller Stadt, voller Elektronik und voller Unruhe, dass es keine schlechte Idee ist, ab und zu mal inne zu halten, um einen Schmetterlingssturm zu beobachten oder den inneren Fuchs frei zu lassen.
All das findet in einem für Tiere ungewöhnlichen Umfeld statt, nämlich der Stadt, was zu sehr kreativen Kombinationen führt. Da begegnen einem schon mal Frösche im Konferenzraum oder Bären im Gerichtssaal. Durch diese Kombination wird gleichzeitig eine Verknüpfung zwischen urbanem Leben und der Rückbesinnung zur Natur geschaffen. Wir sind ständig so voller Stadt, voller Elektronik und voller Unruhe, dass es keine schlechte Idee ist, ab und zu mal inne zu halten, um einen Schmetterlingssturm zu beobachten oder den inneren Fuchs frei zu lassen.
spilled_ink_on_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
martinarusconi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
shanellewrites's review against another edition
5.0
"And look, our very own skulls, side by side, almost touching, like small brown coconuts packed full of parched loam or hollow as bells. What funny bubble-shaped things they are! Nobody will ever know the galaxies that once swirled inside them. No scientist of the future will decipher our great dreams and passions, no scientist will come at all. Some things are so completely lost, so gone, so absent, so vanished, so extinct, so...well there was never a right word for it. This is what you think about when you se yourself as a fossil."
That is just a taste of the beautiful writing that is in this book. There were images and moments where I felt so swept away and had to catch my breath.
This is very different from the kind of book I normally read, but I'm so glad I gave it a try. The artwork is absolutely incredible, and the writing is beautiful. The images that Shaun Tan gives his readers are stunning - bears with lawyers, pigs with missing trotters, owls in waiting rooms, the list goes on and on. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick surreal read.
That is just a taste of the beautiful writing that is in this book. There were images and moments where I felt so swept away and had to catch my breath.
This is very different from the kind of book I normally read, but I'm so glad I gave it a try. The artwork is absolutely incredible, and the writing is beautiful. The images that Shaun Tan gives his readers are stunning - bears with lawyers, pigs with missing trotters, owls in waiting rooms, the list goes on and on. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick surreal read.