Tales From Outer Suburbia
by Shaun Tan
This beautifully illustrated book of short stories explores unexpected and fantastical situations that occur behind an average suburban façade.
A water buffalo is resident at the end of one girl’s street. A small alien-like exchange student comes to stay with a family and his unique and surprising parting gift is illustrated by a stunning doublepage-spread. Another family discover a secret inner courtyard at the
top of their house, where the seasons are reversed.
These often thought-provoking stories look at the reactions ordinary people have to the unusual situations they find themselves in and feature a host of different illustrative styles ranging from collage to painterly Edward Hopper-esque scenes. This is a book to treasure, with more to discover on each re-reading.
Publisher: Templar
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Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne. Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia; his most recently published book is Tales from Outer Suburbia.
http://www.shauntan.net/
Shaun Tan Photo: Hachette
Reading Age: 10+
Interest level: 11+
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