08 Apr / Lost & Found by Shaun Tan
The literati around the world have surely got the memo that 2011 is Shaun Tan‘s year. Every few weeks, he seems to be back in the news with new accolades (all well-deserved, I must add … yes, I got the memo of his genius, too!).
Not too many weeks ago, Australia-based Tan won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film for The Lost Thing (available on iTunes for you techno-savvy), which he co-directed, based on his own story of the same name. Then came the very recent news that Tan won the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award; the coveted literature prize (known as “The World’s Largest Children’s Literature Award”) also comes with five million Swedish krona, something along the lines of $801,000!! WOW!
Lucky for us, we can delight in his latest title as our reward for being loyal groupies: Lost & Found is actually THREE books in one. The Red Tree shows how unexpected surprises can turn despair into hopeful joy; The Lost Thing captures a magical encounter that teaches the proper care and feeding of lost things; and The Rabbits somberly questions the irreversible consequences of colonialism.
Tan’s minutely detailed, whimsically playful, utterly unique art is again something to behold. As in his previous sensational titles, The Arrival and Tales from Outer Suburbia, Tan’s boundless imagination creates beckoning new worlds, just familiar enough to curiously venture in, yet so incomparably surreal and invitingly extraordinary to want to visit again and again. His versatile stories are multi-layered morality tales for all ages, gently suggestive and deeply lingering.
Explore his latest: three strokes of genius in one volume. Talk about rich rewards!
Readers: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2011