Monday, September 29, 2014

A little gift for Expats

Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, who today won the world's richest prize for children's literature, reflects on the quiet mysteries of everyday life in his collection of stories with pictures, Tales From Outer Suburbia.


In this exclusive story, a family gets a surprise when a foreign exchange student, Eric, comes to stay. Although everyone is delighted with the arrangement, cultural misunderstandings ensure, beginning with Eric's insistence on sleeping in a pantry cupboard rather than a specially prepared guest room.

A captivating, sweet and incredibly intriguing story showcasing Eric's interest into the smaller, finer things in our world, those things we sometimes neglect, are the things Eric explored and wondered about the most. Tan uses funny and random drawings of Eric hiding from the family in tiny places around the house like teacups and cabinets. He stays and learns the basic in's and out's of life and goes his own way, but not without leaving his own colorful mark on the gracious home that allowed him to stay there. This is a great example of Shaun Tan's lesson's that can be learned through a simple picture book.

As charming as he is curious, by the end of his stay this intriguing house guest will capture your heart.

A glimpse into what is it to be a little different.


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