Each of these represent some aspect of a working process, whereby stories generally evolve from visual research and free wheeling doodles. The Bird King is a collection of sketches, random jottings, preliminary designs for book, film and theatre projects, sketchbook pages and drawings from life. Collected from his working sketchbooks, with commentary by the artist, these ideas, studies and doodles offer a special insight into the imagination of this internationally acclaimed storyteller.
What do The Bird King, the thing in the bathroom and the paraffin oil koala have in common? They all inhabit the unique world of renowned artist, author and illustrator Shaun Tan. With sensitivity and wonder, the evocative images in The Red Tree open a window to our inexplicable emotions and tell a story about the power of hope, renewal and inspiration. Every child will appreciate the book’s life affirming message but it will be equally successful with all readers. He creates an otherworldly labyinth of visual ideas joined with the familiar immediacy of the little child, and condenses them into scenes of extraordinary depth and insight.
Shaun Tan’s illustrations are remarkable for the way they combine and react upon each other. At that perfect moment of beauty and purity, the child smiles and her world stirs anew. Everything seems hopeless until the child returns to her room and sees The Red Tree. When a child awakens with dark leaves drifting into her bedroom, she feels that ‘sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to, and things go from bad to worse.’ Feelings too complex for words are rendered into an imaginary landscape where the child wanders, oblivious to the glimmer of promise in the shape of a tiny red leaf. But while the reader experiences the main character’s isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy. Because the main character can’t communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant’s experience through a singular work of the imagination. He’s embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life he’s leaving home to build a better future for his family. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow, Tan gives us a story filled with cityscapes worthy of Winsor McCay.’ Jeff Smith, author of Bone ‘A magical river of strangers and their stories!’ Craig Thompson, author of Blankets ‘Magnificent.’ David Small, Caldecott Medalist In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. ‘A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city.
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