The Red Tree

by Shaun Tan

Paperback, 2008

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Genres

Children's Books

Graphic Novels

Collections

Fiction, Children

Publication

Lothian Children's Books (2008), 32 pages

Description

A small child awakes to find blackened leaves falling from her bedroom ceiling, threatening to quietly overwhelm her. 'Sometimes you wake up with nothing to look forward to...' As she wanders around a world that is complex, puzzling and alienating, she is overtaken by a myriad of feelings. Just as it seems all hope is lost, the girl returns to her bedroom to find that a tiny red seedling has grown to fill the room with warm light. Astonishing Perth artist, Shaun Tan's latest creation, The Red Tree, is a book about feelings - feelings that can not always be simply expressed in words. It is a series of imaginary landscapes conjured up by the wizardry of Shaun Tan's masterful and miraculous art. As a kind of fable, The Red Tree seeks to remind us that, though some bad feelings are inevitable, they are always tempered by hope.… (more)

Media reviews

Dagens Nyheter

Att läsa Shaun Tan är ett visuellt äventyr. Men det är mer än så. För Tan är även en oförskämt bra berättare.

User reviews

LibraryThing member francescadefreitas

This is an achingly beautiful picture book about depression. While this seems a surprising theme for a picture book, the rich art and the sparse words seem to easily give me a taste of despair, and the tiny glimmers of hope that may or may not be able to break into it.
I haven't heard a child's

opinion of this book, but I think it would be a wonderful way to help a child come to terms with feelings of sadness, or help understand a loved one experiencing depression.

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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

"sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to," begins this stunning picture book, which - with its flawless blend of text and picture - expresses the reality of depression better than any other book I have seen. Each page adds another simple sentence, and another complex layer of

emotion, to this unfolding story of despair. The pessimism of the opening line is followed by a descent into hopelessness, a sense of overwhelming darkness, and the conviction that it is futile to attempt to either understand or be understood. The loneliness of living in a world that feels like "a deaf machine," the horrifying feeling of being trapped in a place "without sense or reason," and the terrible sense that this downward spiral is somehow inevitable and inescapable, lead the narrator into a place of almost-total isolation. She has become lost, not just from the world around her, but from herself... And then an extraordinary thing happens - something that has been with her all throughout her journey is revealed - and she learns that nothing is lost...

It is difficult for me to describe just how perfectly Shaun Tan's illustrations complement the brief text in this picture book. They are both beautiful and terrifying, but most importantly, they are TRUE. The combination of word and image evokes a powerful emotional response, and although hope does surface at the end, it is Tan's depiction of depression that resonates the longest. I was so moved by this book that I bought a copy for my sister. I wanted her to understand what I meant when I tried to describe depression as less of a "feeling" of sadness, than as a "state" in which the soul itself becomes weary...

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LibraryThing member joyfulgirl

My little sister (well she's not so little) gave me this. I have suffered from depression for a long time, and this book beautifully illustrates the feelings I have encountered (or should I say suffered). Although this is a picture book, it is not a children's book. The illustrations are amazing.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression or grief, it would be a lovely gift.

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LibraryThing member isaacfellows

Tan's evocation of emotional states in surreal imagery is profound and true. I love this guy's work. It would be interesting to use this book as a jumping-off point for "how I feel" drawings beyond happy and sad faces.

LibraryThing member sanguinity

If you want to know what depression feels like -- the hard-core deal, and not the passing thing where you're kinda bummed that your vacation is over and you have to go back to work again -- this is it. (Except depression is a lot less aesthetic than this -- but, hey, artistic license.) Turning the

pages was almost eerie, with a sense that Tan knew far, far too much about what great swaths of my childhood felt like; he had taken my inner life and smeared it across the page for anyone to see.

Except, you know, making it beautiful.

I was reading this in the library with occasional passers-by, and each time a shadow moved in my peripheral vision, I wanted to slam the book shut, for fear that they would see what I was looking at and know.

I've got to say, based on the two books of Tan's that I've read, the man is awesome-brilliant. Little details in the spreads kept catching my eye, extra little messages that double-underscored the point of the illustration. The spread of the child looking out the window at clouds and birds and beautiful things, and how isolated s/he feels from them--? That the illustration is composed looking in at the child, with the beautiful things the child is looking at only visible as a reflection, just an illusion on the glass... Heart-breaking. I kept touching the page, stroking that picture.

Okay, maybe the very last spread is something of a sell-out, the adult voice interjecting what he wants the child to believe. But, FWIW, I also remember that my very favorite book as a child had a similar final page -- an assertion that sometimes the world is different than this -- and I remember finding it comforting. So.

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LibraryThing member ChemicalAzure

This is an astonishingly lovely children's book about, believe it or not, depression. Although what it portrays may seem gloomy, it is definitely a masterpiece, hands down.

LibraryThing member craigrbarnes

Outstanding treatment of childhood depression

LibraryThing member GirlMisanthrope

I collect children's picture books. This is easily the most hauntingly beautiful and effective one I have ever seen. Tan's paintings and mixed media images hold more information than the spare text.

LibraryThing member fsmichaels

Such a beautiful book - as an adult I've read it and loved it, and given it to other adults. One of my favorites. About hope, lost and found.

LibraryThing member keely13

A simplified look at hopelessness and feelings of despair. A little girl journeys through her day unsure of the world around her. With perpetual negatives on each page it isn't until she gets home and realizes the beauty she had hoped for is right in front of her; there is light in darkness. The

illustrations in this book paint a strong picture of what isolation looks like. The text and illustrations complement one another so well, this book is powerful. A work of art.

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LibraryThing member satyridae

I have never read a better book about depression. Tan's illustrations are otherworldly and inform and illuminate the simple text with layers of meaning and despair and hope. This is a truly extraordinary book which I recommend whole-heartedly to anyone whose life has been touched by sadness.

Brilliant, intense, and outrageously beautiful.

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LibraryThing member crdf

It seems to me that this book is expression of depression, but it is so beautiful, not in a sad way. Amazingly complicated drawings and some nostalgia coming from between the pages of the book. A book of very few words.

LibraryThing member pbailey1980

This is a beautiful short book with amazing illustrations about a young girl and her depression. This book may be something simply touch a young reader on a personal level or may be used to initiate conversation about dealing with life's challenges. As someone who has struggled with depression, I

felt a strong connection with this book.

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LibraryThing member ReneePaule

I love this book. It's so true to life and deeply meaningful.

LibraryThing member brakketh

Amazing book about depression. Excellent read.

LibraryThing member bookcrazed

I thought of this book as a child's picture book, but after giving it as a gift to an adult friend . . . and then afterwards thinking about it for nearly twenty years, I think of it as a book for anyone who has suffered a really bad day -- or perhaps even a bad year or two. Tan's illustrations are

as exquisite as one would expect from a much awarded artists and illustrator.

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LibraryThing member skylightbooks

This, without a doubt, is THE most beautiful children's book I've ever had the opportunity to open. Tan stunningly entwines illustration and simple words to capture powerful feelings of loneliness, sorrow and hope that so many authors do not acknowledge that children have. Tan's illustrations are

undeniably beautiful, while leaving readers young and old alike with such a feeling of anticipation towards life. -Courtney

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

I've recently become interested in this artist, and this book is stunning. The images are overwhelmingly complex. The story blends beautifully. wow. just wow.

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