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4.5 AVERAGE
4.5 AVERAGE
This book is so good, I love it. It's not a particularly happy book but I think that makes me love it even more, not all picture books have to be happy all of the time. I think it is important for children to recognise that and be allowed to explore those kind of feelings in a safe environment which is this case would be the classroom. The illustrations in his books are always amazing and this one is no different. My favourite is the "without sense or reason" page. The colours are so bright and the pictures making up the illustration are so detailed and when you look at it as a whole page you get the full effect of chaos because of all the different shapes and sizes. It takes things you recognise from daily life, such as the aeroplane, and changes it into a form that you wouldn't expect. I definitely related to this book more than I thought I would which I think would be the case for a lot of the people that read it.
At the end when the girl comes back to her bedroom still feeling sad and alone, to discover the red tree that has sprouted out of the ground it just makes me so happy. It shows that there is some good things in the world, even if it doesn't feel like it, there is often joy in the small things.
This book would be a great introduction to a topic about feelings, maybe not with younger children but definitely those in upper KS2. They could even use drama to explore some of the scenes, maybe taking them from just drawings to real life scenes for others to watch.
The more books I read by Shaun Tan, the more he becomes one of my favourite authors. His pictures combined with the topics he writes about are just so intriguing and thought provoking. Definitely going to find another one of his to read next.
At the end when the girl comes back to her bedroom still feeling sad and alone, to discover the red tree that has sprouted out of the ground it just makes me so happy. It shows that there is some good things in the world, even if it doesn't feel like it, there is often joy in the small things.
This book would be a great introduction to a topic about feelings, maybe not with younger children but definitely those in upper KS2. They could even use drama to explore some of the scenes, maybe taking them from just drawings to real life scenes for others to watch.
The more books I read by Shaun Tan, the more he becomes one of my favourite authors. His pictures combined with the topics he writes about are just so intriguing and thought provoking. Definitely going to find another one of his to read next.
Re-read
Talking of books that have had a deep effect on me, I recalled this picture book and just had to re-visit it.
There are not many words in these pages and yet Shaun Tan communicates an incredibly poignant narrative. It isn't really a story as such but a visual metaphor for depression, alienness, isolation... and hope. A little girl wakes up one morning - Sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to - a few dark leaves floating around her, that turn into a flood she has to wade through to leave the room - and things go from bad to worse.
Tan shows many powerful emotions through these amazing surrealist paintings. Every element functions brilliantly, from the few words, the typography (stressing some words by enlarging their size or de-aligning them) to the images. The artist must have suffered from depression to be able to paint the complex emotions in such a sensitive way.
The end might seem uncharacteristically positive in light of the rest of the book but it does make sense. On each page, a tiny red leaf can be found. The girl doesn't see it, and the reader has to look for it. I feel this leaf personifies hope, as shown by the title, always there even if hidden from us. It is true that the tree might disappear, dried up, but there is a circularity however - like all plants, it will grow back.
By the nature of this picture book, it is marketed to children and I feel this is a good thing. Kids feel everything adults do, they just have less experience than we do. People, society even, are scared by this subject and try to hide it away. This book shines on it, showing children and indeed adults that they are not alone in those feelings and that there is hope, however long it takes to find it.
PS: Tan also dealt with emigration ([b:The Arrival|920607|The Arrival|Shaun Tan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312827620s/920607.jpg|905641]) and colonisation ([b:The Rabbits|82599|The Rabbits|John Marsden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344739399s/82599.jpg|79745]) in the same amazing way.
Talking of books that have had a deep effect on me, I recalled this picture book and just had to re-visit it.
There are not many words in these pages and yet Shaun Tan communicates an incredibly poignant narrative. It isn't really a story as such but a visual metaphor for depression, alienness, isolation... and hope. A little girl wakes up one morning - Sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to - a few dark leaves floating around her, that turn into a flood she has to wade through to leave the room - and things go from bad to worse.
Tan shows many powerful emotions through these amazing surrealist paintings. Every element functions brilliantly, from the few words, the typography (stressing some words by enlarging their size or de-aligning them) to the images. The artist must have suffered from depression to be able to paint the complex emotions in such a sensitive way.
The end might seem uncharacteristically positive in light of the rest of the book but it does make sense. On each page, a tiny red leaf can be found. The girl doesn't see it, and the reader has to look for it. I feel this leaf personifies hope, as shown by the title, always there even if hidden from us. It is true that the tree might disappear, dried up, but there is a circularity however - like all plants, it will grow back.
By the nature of this picture book, it is marketed to children and I feel this is a good thing. Kids feel everything adults do, they just have less experience than we do. People, society even, are scared by this subject and try to hide it away. This book shines on it, showing children and indeed adults that they are not alone in those feelings and that there is hope, however long it takes to find it.
PS: Tan also dealt with emigration ([b:The Arrival|920607|The Arrival|Shaun Tan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312827620s/920607.jpg|905641]) and colonisation ([b:The Rabbits|82599|The Rabbits|John Marsden|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344739399s/82599.jpg|79745]) in the same amazing way.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Language: metaphor
Stunning illustrations
Themes: depression, loneliness, hope
Stunning illustrations
Themes: depression, loneliness, hope
This is a picture book with a single sentence caption/text for each page. The imagery is extremely evocative and dense with possible meanings and the text is for the most part extremely bleak right up until the final page when the titular red tree makes an appearance. It caught my attention because it is a picture book for adults, which was something that had been mentioned in one of the English sessions. It is a book which you could use in different ways with different age groups, and which could lend itself to many different uses: sparking discussion for PSHE or P4C, as inspiration for creative writing or for students own artwork. Many of the pieces in the book are thematically quite heavy, so it would have to be treated with some care.
Hay libros que llegan en momentos indicados, no importa qué tan pequeños o largos sean.
Este libro, con sus ilustraciones y sus escaso texto abrazo mi corazón hasta hacerlo llorar y sentirse puro de nuevo.
Últimamente los días, para mí, siempre estaban vacíos de esperanzas pero este libro me hizo abrir los ojos y ver que ahí estaba, delante de mi rebosante de color y vida; esperándome tal y como lo imagine.
De mis favoritos del año y de la vida.
Que precioso libro.
Y las ilustraciones para que les cuento.
Este libro, con sus ilustraciones y sus escaso texto abrazo mi corazón hasta hacerlo llorar y sentirse puro de nuevo.
Últimamente los días, para mí, siempre estaban vacíos de esperanzas pero este libro me hizo abrir los ojos y ver que ahí estaba, delante de mi rebosante de color y vida; esperándome tal y como lo imagine.
De mis favoritos del año y de la vida.
Que precioso libro.
Y las ilustraciones para que les cuento.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Really enjoyed the tone of the story, the thought provoking nature of the illustration style, and the respect given to the challenges we can face in our day-to-day. Not a kids book. Structured and shelved like a kid’s book—but not a kids book. That’s not to say kid’s books can’t be heavy and emotional, but this one is a step or two too dark in my view.
