BEST OF THE YEAR
The Guardian - SLJ Teen Librarian Toolbox
From the creator of The Arrival, a collection of essays illuminating his
thoughts and advice for writers and artists, young and old.
Shaun Tan is one of the world's most highly acclaimed narrative
artists--his stories and images are loved by countless young and
not-so-young readers around the world. Drawing upon 25 years as a
picture book and comics creator, painter, and film-maker, Creature
explores the central obsession of this visionary artist, from casual
doodles to studied oil-paintings.
Beyond sketches for acclaimed works such as The Arrival, The Lost Thing,
and Tales From Outer Suburbia, this volume collects together for the
first time unseen and stand-alone illustrations, each resonant with
unwritten tales of their own. Detailed commentary by the artist offers
an entertaining insight into the endless allure of imaginary, non-human
beings and what they might tell us about our so-called "normal" human
selves.
Artists, writers, students, dreamers, and anyone interested in the
deeper undercurrents of creativity, myth, and visual metaphor will find
inspiration in these pages.
P R A I S E
"Weird and wonderful. Tan often explores the junction between adult
experience and childhood memory."
--The Sydney Morning Herald
"A strange beast: dark, whimsical and deeply moving."
--The Guardian
"Like Miyazaki, Tan engages audiences across a wide range of age and
sophistication."
--The New York Times
★ "Tan acts as artist, curator, interpretive essayist, and catalog
editor for a gallery of over two hundred pieces of his own works that
highlight a dominant theme of animate beings--some real, most invented,
but all fellow travelers through our world and through our psyches."
--BCCB (starred)
★ "This gorgeously designed coffee-table survey of his picture book,
comics, exhibition and sketchbook work exposes readers to a 26-year
panoply of off-kilter conceptions, in all their disquieting delight.
Wondrous."
--Booklist (starred)
