Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Tan, S. (2008). Tales from Outer Suburbia. NY,NY:  Scholastic ISBN 0545055873

Author:  Shaun Tan

Author Website:  shauntan.net

Illustrator:  Shaun Tan

Illustrator Website:  shauntan.net

Media Used:  Black and white and color drawing

Publisher:  Scholastic

Year of Publication:  2008

ISBN:  0545055873

Annotation:  Fifteen weird and wacky tales about the all too common suburbia landscape.  The illustrations take the reader to the surreal figures and strange and bizarre landscapes.

Personal Reaction:  These tales reminded me of the weird way comedians think and the things they say.  Sometimes the stories are funny and some poignant.  I am not a fan of fantasy either in tale or art but found myself drawn to examining the pictures just to see where the author’s mind went next.  I would recommend to the right child or teen.

Illustration:  Colored drawings depicting scenes and characters that are sometimes vaguely realistic and at other times weird and out of this world.  The illustrations take the reader to the surreal figures and strange and bizarre landscapes. The reader cannot help but to be drawn to the pictures to see how the narrative is interpreted.  the artist is able to connect the strange with the well known as when he depicts the foreign exhange student which is drawn like a leaf connected to a stick figure body buckled up in a seat belt.

Use of Media: Drawings that are sometimes realistic, fantastical, simple and collage like.

Use of literary device:  Repetition is used in questions “Why are they here?’ What do they want? Whack! Whack! Whack!”  Onomatopoeia is used with the “Whack! Whack! Whack!” to describe the boys hitting the stick figures with baseball bats.