Shaun Tan grew up in Perth and works as an artist, writer and film-maker in Melbourne. He is best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through dream-like imagery. The Rabbits, The Red Tree, Tales from Outer Suburbia, Rules of Summer and the graphic novel The Arrivalhave been widely translated throughout the world and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, a concept artist for Pixar and won an Academy Award for the short animated film The Lost Thing. In 2011 he received the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in Sweden, in recognition of his services to literature for young people. His most recent books are The Singing Bones, Cicada and the Kate Greenaway award-winning Tales from the Inner City. About the Book This could be read as a simple tale of a Lost Thing in a faceless industrial world but as with all Tan's work it invites more complex analysis. I think it evokes so well those melancholy feelings of being "other", of not fitting into a world that appears to be rushing on without you. Maurice Sendak, internationally acclaimed creator of the illustrated book Where the Wild Things Are (1963), claims that ‘the invention of the picture book’ began in the art of Randolph Caldecott (1836–86) when he developed a ‘juxtaposition of word and picture, a counterpoint … Words are left out and the picture says it. Pictures are left out and a word says it.’ Sendak states adamantly:

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan is a great wordless picture book The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan is a great wordless picture book

Surrounded by a growing apathy, one keeps fulfilling tasks conscientiously, exchanging absentminded smiles, squandering time as if it weren't the stuff life is made out of.¹ The agencies which are purportedly there to offer help (such as the cynically named ‘Department of Odds and Ends’) evidently achieve the reverse. The building itself dwarfs any prospective person (or thing?) seeking solace, reducing them to little more than spittle on the sidewalk. Indeed, even the disembodied voice advising the narrator suggests, ‘If you really care about that thing, you shouldn’t leave it here …’ When his parents notice it, Shaun’s mother reacts like most do: “Its feet are filthy!” she shrieks. His father is equally negative: it has to go. The Lost Thing is hidden in the shed, but Shaun knows that’s not a permanent solution, so he tries his best to do the right thing. He encounters bureaucratic indifference in the city (Downtown, 6328th Street, Tall Grey Building #357b) but also helpful advice, and hopes he has ultimately helped The Lost Thing to a good destination. And what an environment to be lost in. I have read this book thousands of times and I cannot find a tree, leaf, flower, or garden. Yes, there is a beach, but its waters are acidic blue, overshadowed by monumental concrete walls seeping toxins. If the reader really looks, she will spot the word ‘MORE’ engraved in the concrete, meaning ‘MORE WHAT?’ The options are terrifying. This world is a bit steampunk. It’s full of contraptions that we don’t recognise (including the lost thing itself.)My first film project – and the only one I’ve written, designed and directed – is a 15 minute animated adaptation of my picture book The Lost Thing (2000), produced by Passion Pictures in association with Screen Australia, which went on to play at international festivals, win an Annecy Crystal and an Academy Award in 2011. You can learn more about that project here, which includes resources for teachers. I read this straight through in the Oxford Street Bookshop (took less than five minutes), and only did the 'you're not crying in the shop!' thing once, which is good going for a Shaun Tan.

The Lost Thing - Reading Australia The Lost Thing - Reading Australia

This type of book, which looks like a children’s book, grapples with adult themes in a complex and sophisticated manner, and represents a space for multimodal reading which is shared by children and adults. The emotional and intellectual depth of these books argues strongly against the old-fashioned idea that reading the pictures is not for the adult literary reader.

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Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of interpretations and responses (ACELT1610) The unhappy ending is that this boy is an adult now and can hardly remember any of the amazing things he knew of as a child. RESONANCE The Lost Thing is a humorous story about a boy who discovers a bizarre-looking creature while out collecting bottle-tops at the beach. Having guessed that it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but the problem is met with indifference by everyone else, who barely notice its existence. Strangers, friends, parents are all unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to day-to-day life. In spite of his own reservations, the boy feels sorry for this hapless creature, and attempts to find out where it belongs. While walking on the beach collecting bottle tops, a boy finds a strange, sad-looking, but friendly, 'thing'. The lost thing (a huge abstract and red object with six legs and many windows and doors) and the boy spend a pleasant time together. Since no one seems to claim ownership of the thing, the boy decides to take it home, but eventually hands it over to a special place where many unclaimed items are left. Set in the near future, a dystopian Melbourne, Australia, The Lost Thing is a story about Shaun who enjoys collecting bottle tops for his bottle top collection. One day, while collecting bottle tops near a beach, he discovers a strange creature, that seems to be a combination of a crab, an octopus, and an industrial boiler. This creature is referred to as "The Lost Thing" by the narrator.

The Lost Thing book — shaun tan

This resource contains ideas for using discussion, art and writing to respond to this beautiful book.

More widely, this could be a story about any child with an unusual worldview who, by social conditioning, is gradually forced into adult conformity. CHARACTER In questo peregrinare notiamo tante cose strane che riusciremmo a vedere tranquillamente se solo non fossimo sempre così impegnati a pensare ai fatti nostri. Nodelman, P. Words About Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children’s Picture Books, University of Georgia Press. 1988 Some don't need grandiose words to break hearts. Using a most colloquial speech, one is reminded of how often important things are neglected. Forgotten. Left behind. Just plain lost.