Thursday, May 22, 2014

Down Unders: Lost and Found by Shaun Tan


Book Details:

  • Illustrated by Shaun Tan

Important Things to Know:
  • These stories are dark and deal with things like depression, loneliness, and the problems of colonization.

Why Wombly and I Enjoyed This Book:

  • Shaun Tan just does beautiful art. There are so many layers. I've read this book three times, Wombly has read it twice, and each time we see something new. I stared at one of the pages for a good long while, tracing my fingers across every detail I could. And then Wombly started poking me because he wanted to continue with the story.
  • The stories are so powerful. They deal with difficult issues while maintaining hope, all without being up front and in your face. There's a lot of use of symbolism. The message is fluid and subtle. I really, really enjoy subtlety in a story. Probably because I tend to be rather terrible at being subtle.
  • Wombly loved that Shaun Tan trusted him as a young reader. Sometimes we read Down Under books and it feels like the author doesn't trust Wombly (and other Down Under readers). Like truth has to be sugar-coated or glossed over or forgotten. It was good to feel trusted, to know the author took the reader seriously.

Wombly and I Read This Book Because:

  • My friend introduced me to Shaun Tan and I have been reading him ever since. He just came out with a new book Rules of Summer, and I wanted to re-introduce Wombly to Shaun Tan since we haven't read him for awhile.
  • We hope that you, too, will read this book and be able to experience these three emotive stories that Lost & Found offers.

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