Review and Giveaway: Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

Welcome to my celebration of Shaun Tan's Lost & Found, a special collection of three of his illustrated books: The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, and The Rabbits. Although this single volume has been available in Australia, it is only now being released in the United States.

And the timing couldn't be better, considering that Tan recently won the Oscar for his animated film of The Lost Thing.

Let me run you through the contents of this wonderful book and direct you to my reviews of two of the stories. Then I'll tell you about the story I haven't yet reviewed. Oh and I have illustrations, videos, and of course the giveaway!

The first thing you notice about any Shaun Tan book are the illustrations. He uses vivid colors and includes many fascinating details. Every time you look at one of his paintings, you find something new. The image to the right is from The Rabbits (click to enlarge), and the text reads: "They made their own houses. We couldn't understand the way they talked."

I reviewed The Rabbits in 2009. For this book, Tan collaborated with John Marsden (Australian author of the very popular Tomorrow series). Marsden wrote the text, but Tan brought it to life with his illustrations. The book examines the effects of European colonization and the introduction of modern technology on non-Western lands. My review contains some additional images from the book.

Last fall I reviewed The Lost Thing, which explores what happens when a young man opens his eyes and his life to a lost creature. We are often so caught up with the minutiae of our lives that we stop paying attention to what's right there in front of us. The illustration to the left (click to enlarge), shows this clearly. The text reads: "My parents didn't really notice it at first. Too busy discussing current events, I guess." The film from this story won the Oscar.

The tale that was new to me is The Red Tree, which is about a young girl who is feeling displaced and uncomfortable with herself. She thinks that no one understands her, and she doesn't know where she belongs. But if she can patiently wait out the gloom, chances are she'll find a bright red tree growing just for her.

To the right is an illustration from The Red Tree (click to enlarge). The words that go with this image are "nobody understands."

To top off this special collection, Tan included some new illustrations and a personal note in which he discusses the three stories. There is also a note from John Marsden.

Last spring, I was lucky enough to have welcomed Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader to Beth Fish Reads. Her guest post is all about Shaun Tan and contains two videos of his work, including one about The Red Tree. Be sure to revisit that post.

Although I included the film trailer in my review of The Lost Thing, I've reposted it here for your enjoyment. I can't tell you how loud I squealed when Tan won the Oscar for this animated rendition of his book.

And for the giveaway. I am happy to announce that I can offer two--yes, you read that correctly!--two of my readers a copy of Shaun Tan's collection Lost & Found. This is a chance to get three of Tan's books in one hardcover, oversize volume. The dust jacket is embossed, and the paper is heavy and smooth. It's a beautifully produced book from one of my favorite artist/authors. I guarantee that you will love his work.

Here are the details: Because this book has been available in other countries and has just been released here in the United States, the giveaway is for U.S. mailing addresses only. All you have to do to enter is to fill out the form. I'll pick two winners via a random number generator on the morning of March 15. (All personal data will be deleted once a winner is chosen).



To learn more about Shaun Tan and to see his amazing artwork, be sure to visit his website. In the following video Tan talks about his stories and the making of The Lost Thing. The video was recorded before the Oscar award ceremony. (The volume is rather low.)

Good luck! And thanks so much to Scholastic for giving me the opportunity to host this giveaway.

Published by Scholastic 2011
ISBN-13: 9780545229241YTD: 26
Source: Review (see review policy)
Rating: A
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)