Reviews
Praise for The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook * "The sharing of unfinished work is a generous gesture, and the collection is a treasure trove for any young artist who wants to know more about how ideas are captured on paper." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review * "Unmistakable are his flawless craftsmanship , his organically industrial yet timeless aesthetic, and his lyrically haunting style and tone... A powerful springboard for the imagination ." -- Booklist , starred review Praise for The Arrival A New York Times Best Illustrated Book An ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for Teens A Publishers Weekly Best Book "Mesmerizing... Such visual eloquence can only motivate readers to seek out any future graphic novels from Shaun Tan, regardless of where they might be shelved." -- New York Times Book Review "Astonishing." -- The Washington Post * "Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." -- Booklist , starred review * "An unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review * "Few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner ." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review Praise for Tales from Outer Suburbia A New York Times Best Illustrated Book A Publishers Weekly Best Book "You almost can't stop yourself from saying 'Wow...' Tan's work overflows with human warmth and childlike wonder." -- New York Times Book Review * "The thoughtful and engaged reader will take from these stories an experience as deep and profound as with anything he has ever read." -- Booklist , starred review * "Graphic-novel and text enthusiasts alike will be drawn to this breathtaking combination of words and images ." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review Praise for Lost & Found: Three by Shaun Tan * "These stories representing the visionary work of a master storyteller, illustrator, and designer who cares deeply about his message deserve a place in almost every collection." -- Booklist , starred review " Shaun Tan rocks my retinas ... The book is gorgeously designed, the stories are evocative and mysterious, and every page of Tan's paintings -- I can't bring myself to call them mere illustrations -- commands long moments of study." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Tan, the mastermind behind the incomparable The Arrival (2007) and Lost and Found (2011), opens up his sketchbooks and offers up an array of drawings, doodles, and visual experiments. Separated into works for books, theater, and film; life drawings; notebooks; and tantalizing glimpses of untold stories, the entries all share Tan's unique trademarks. Unmistakable are his flawless craftsmanship, his organically industrial yet timeless aesthetic, and his lyrically haunting style and tone. Given their own page and focus, many details that might have attracted merely a glance in larger works are turned here from a flourish into a full-fledged character or visual idea. Simultaneously, mechanics of his world-building skill come clear, like a penchant for embellishing illustrations to make them appear a part of a larger blueprint or schematic, giving the sense of a small image within a vast tapestry that is itself an infinitely branching world of imagination. The author's stated hope is that, in their evolutionary examination of images and narratives, the sketchbook pages "offer a privileged insight into the creative process." So it does, making it an invaluable resource for burgeoning visual storytellers. But even for those interested in little more than pondering and daydreaming, this is a powerful springboard for the imagination." - Jesse Karp, Booklist starred review Praise for THE ARRIVAL "A wordless tour de force" -- Time Out New York Kids "[A]n unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." -- Booklist, starred review A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007 An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2008 Praise for TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA "You almost can't stop yourself from saying 'Wow...' Tan's work overflows with human warmth and childlike wonder." -- New York Times Book Review "TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA is not quite like anything else, and that's perhaps the best thing of all about it, opening up reading as a sort of strong, wild and individual activity." -- Chicago Tribune "Graphic-novel and text enthusiasts alike will be drawn to this breathtaking combination of words and images." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2009 An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2010 Praise for LOST & FOUND: THREE BY SHAUN TAN "Shaun Tan rocks my retinas... The book is gorgeously designed, the stories are evocative and mysterious, and every page of Tan's paintings -- I can't bring myself to call them mere illustrations -- commands long moments of study." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer "Shaun Tan creates a landscape part Bosch, part Lewis Carroll, narrates with a young, quiet voice, and, once again, makes a book like no one else's." -- Chicago Tribune An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2012, Praise for The Bird King *"Unmistakable are his flawless craftsmanship, his organically industrial yet timeless aesthetic, and his lyrically haunting style and tone . . . an invaluable resource for burgeoning visual storytellers . . . [and] a powerful springboard for the imagination." -- Booklist , starred review *"The sharing of unfinished work is a generous gesture, and the collection is a treasure trove for any young artist who wants to know more about how ideas are captured on paper." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review "Rewarding territory to explore not just for budding artists or writers, but for daydreamers in general." -- Kirkus, Praise for The Bird King *"Unmistakable are his flawless craftsmanship, his organically industrial yet timeless aesthetic, and his lyrically haunting style and tone . . . an invaluable resource for burgeoning visual storytellers . . . [and] a powerful springboard for the imagination." - Booklist , starred review *"The sharing of unfinished work is a generous gesture, and the collection is a treasure trove for any young artist who wants to know more about how ideas are captured on paper." - Publishers Weekly , starred review "Rewarding territory to explore not just for budding artists or writers, but for daydreamers in general." - Kirkus, Praise for THE ARRIVAL "A wordless tour de force" -- Time Out New York Kids "[A]n unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." -- Booklist, starred review A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007 A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007 An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2008 Praise for TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA "You almost can't stop yourself from saying 'Wow...' Tan's work overflows with human warmth and childlike wonder." -- New York Times Book Review "TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA is not quite like anything else, and that's perhaps the best thing of all about it, opening up reading as a sort of strong, wild and individual activity." -- Chicago Tribune "Graphic-novel and text enthusiasts alike will be drawn to this breathtaking combination of words and images." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2009 An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2010 Praise for LOST & FOUND: THREE BY SHAUN TAN "Shaun Tan rocks my retinas... The book is gorgeously designed, the stories are evocative and mysterious, and every page of Tan's paintings -- I can't bring myself to call them mere illustrations -- commands long moments of study." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer "Shaun Tan creates a landscape part Bosch, part Lewis Carroll, narrates with a young, quiet voice, and, once again, makes a book like no one else's." -- Chicago Tribune An ALA Notable Children's Book, 2012, Praise for The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook * "The sharing of unfinished work is a generous gesture, and the collection is a treasure trove for any young artist who wants to know more about how ideas are captured on paper." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review* "Unmistakable are his flawless craftsmanship , his organically industrial yet timeless aesthetic, and his lyrically haunting style and tone... A powerful springboard for the imagination ." -- Booklist , starred review Praise for The Arrival A New York Times Best Illustrated BookAn ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novel for TeensA Publishers Weekly Best Book"Mesmerizing... Such visual eloquence can only motivate readers to seek out any future graphic novels from Shaun Tan, regardless of where they might be shelved." -- New York Times Book Review "Astonishing." -- The Washington Post * "Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." -- Booklist , starred review* "An unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review* "Few will remain unaffected by this timeless stunner ." -- Publishers Weekly , starred review Praise for Tales from Outer Suburbia A New York Times Best Illustrated BookA Publishers Weekly Best Book"You almost can't stop yourself from saying 'Wow...' Tan's work overflows with human warmth and childlike wonder." -- New York Times Book Review * "The thoughtful and engaged reader will take from these stories an experience as deep and profound as with anything he has ever read." -- Booklist , starred review* "Graphic-novel and text enthusiasts alike will be drawn to this breathtaking combination of words and images ." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review Praise for Lost & Found: Three by Shaun Tan * "These stories representing the visionary work of a master storyteller, illustrator, and designer who cares deeply about his message deserve a place in almost every collection." -- Booklist , starred review" Shaun Tan rocks my retinas ... The book is gorgeously designed, the stories are evocative and mysterious, and every page of Tan's paintings -- I can't bring myself to call them mere illustrations -- commands long moments of study." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer, Praise for The Arrival A New York Times Best Illustrated Book A Publishers Weekly Best Book An ALA Notable Children's Book "A wordless tour de force." - Time Out New York Kids *"With this haunting, wordless sequence about a lonely emigrant in a bewildering city, Tan ( The Lost Thing ) finds in the graphic novel format an ideal outlet for his sublime imagination." - Publishers Weekly , starred review *"Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." - Booklist , starred review Praise for Lost & Found Winner, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Winner, Academy Award for Best Short Film A Booklist Editors' Choice An ALA Notable Children's Book "In Tan's oblique world, the story takes place in that interactive space between the reader and the page." - The Washington Post "Tan's superb artwork - quirky, surreal, paradoxically inviting and alienating - is tailored to each story without any loss of his signature style." - The Horn Book "Tan creates intense and meticulously detailed landscapes that both enchant and unsettle the reader... The challenge will be to read this without peering at each corner of every page." - School Library Journal
Synopsis
"I'm often wary of using the word 'inspiration' to introduce my work -- it sounds too much like a sun shower from the heavens, absorbed by a passive individual enjoying an especially receptive moment. While that may be the case on rare occasions, the reality is usually far more prosaic. Staring at a blank piece of paper, I can't think of anything original. I feel utterly uninspired and unreceptive. It's the familiar malaise of 'artist's block' and in such circumstances there is only one thing to do: just start drawing." -- Shaun Tan And when Shaun Tan starts drawing, the results are stunning. In The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook , we find a window into the creative process: the stops and starts, the ideas that never took off, and the ones that grew into something much bigger. Fans of The Arrival will recognize the quirky, surreal sensibility that is so distinctly Shaun Tan in this stunning collection, and gain insight into how his many gorgeous books were made., A new book of sketches, artwork, and personal reflection from the brilliant mind of award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan. "I'm often wary of using the word 'inspiration' to introduce my work -- it sounds too much like a sun shower from the heavens, absorbed by a passive individual enjoying an especially receptive moment. While that may be the case on rare occasions, the reality is usually far more prosaic. Staring at a blank piece of paper, I can't think of anything original. I feel utterly uninspired and unreceptive. It's the familiar malaise of 'artist's block' and in such circumstances there is only one thing to do: just start drawing." -- Shaun TanAnd when Shaun Tan starts drawing, the results are stunning. In The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook , we find a window into the creative process: the stops and starts, the ideas that never took off, and the ones that grew into something much bigger. Fans of The Arrival will recognize the quirky, surreal sensibility that is so distinctly Shaun Tan in this stunning collection, and gain insight into how his many gorgeous books were made., A new book of sketches, artwork, and personal reflection from the brilliant mind of award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan., A new book of sketches, artwork, and personal reflection from the brilliant mind of award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan."I'm often wary of using the word 'inspiration' to introduce my work -- it sounds too much like a sun shower from the heavens, absorbed by a passive individual enjoying an especially receptive moment. While that may be the case on rare occasions, the reality is usually far more prosaic. Staring at a blank piece of paper, I can't think of anything original. I feel utterly uninspired and unreceptive. It's the familiar malaise of 'artist's block' and in such circumstances there is only one thing to do: just start drawing." -- Shaun TanAnd when Shaun Tan starts drawing, the results are stunning. In The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook , we find a window into the creative process: the stops and starts, the ideas that never took off, and the ones that grew into something much bigger. Fans of The Arrival will recognize the quirky, surreal sensibility that is so distinctly Shaun Tan in this stunning collection, and gain insight into how his many gorgeous books were made.
