The Red Tree [Hardcover]

Shaun Tan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

When a child awakens with dark leaves drifting into her bedroom, she feels that "sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to, and things go from bad to worse." Feelings too complex for words are rendered into an imaginary landscape where the child wanders, oblivious to the glimmer of promise in the shape of a tiny red leaf. Everything seems hopeless until the child returns to her room and sees the red tree. At that perfect moment of beauty and purity, the child smiles and her world stirs anew.

Shaun Tan's illustrations are remarkable for the way they combine and react upon each other. He creates an otherworldly labyinth of visual ideas joined with the familiar immediacy of the little child, and condenses them into scenes of extraordinary depth and insight. Every child will appreciate the book's life-affirming message but it will be equally successful with all readers. With sensitivity and wonder, the evocative images in The Red Tree open a window to our inexplicable emotions and tell a story about the power of hope, renewal and inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up-An astonishing fable in picture-book format. A girl moving through landscapes of hopelessness and isolation encounters an image of hope on the book's final page. Through the weight of her sorrow, readers conclude, on both intellectual and emotional levels, that living in despair is waiting for hope. Tan's sophisticated mixed-media illustrations include fantasy and dream elements, and subtle symbolism packed together with an array of art techniques ranging from complicated cut-paper collages to Drescher-like paintings, but serious. These complex pictures send visual impressions powerful enough to cause readers to gasp as a new page is revealed. The simple, direct text ("darkness overcomes you" or "sometimes you just don't know what you are supposed to do"), often poetic ("the world is a deaf machine"), serves both as an entryway into the complicated illustrations, and as an enhancement to them. Perhaps too sophisticated in its point of view for some youngsters, this is nonetheless a book of amazing beauty, high quality, and distinguished artistry.
Liza Graybill, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-12. "Sometimes the day begins with nothing to look forward to . . . darkness overwhelms you / nobody understands." This picture book for older readers uses spare words and extraordinary paint-and-paper collages to articulate the hopelessness, anxiety, and fear that accompany depression. Each lavish spread follows a young, red-haired girl through wildly imagined, nightmarish landscapes: a city scene, normal except for a hideous giant fish with bloodied eyes; a violent clashing of enormous ships and tidal waves hovering over the girl crouched in a tiny boat. The text is minimal, just a few words per page, but the themes and images are sophisticated: regret over missed opportunities; information overload; the search for identity and meaning. Fragile hope comes in the form of a tiny red leaf that's barely noticeable in each composition, but finally blossoms, at the book's end, into a blazing, glorious tree. Art students, teens, and even adults will be interested in these gripping fantasies, which capture dark fears and depression's terrifying, illogical power. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simply Read Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0968876838
• ISBN-13: 978-0968876831
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #651,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.

Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits , The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia; his most recently published book is Tales from Outer Suburbia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Red Tree - The Black Day, January 24, 2002

By 

"fischerwest" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Tree (Hardcover)

Having gazed in awe for hours over Shaun Tan's previous books (which could be simply 'read' in minutes), I have been drawn to giggles, tears and several art-history references.

Shaun's tackled a difficult subject here in childhood depression. He's managed to handle it in such a way that kids who have just had a bad 'moment', and kids that are really having a terrible extended period of time, will not feel alone in their sadness and problems, and will ultimately, hopefully, feel uplifted.

Shauns words and images do not talk down to kids in any way. The images are mostly complex, dark, brooding - and filled with enough detail to entrance on many repeat readings.
His settings are otherworldly enough to keep up the sense of mystery and distance, but familiar enough to have the reader feel connected with the central figure - a little girl who is sad, feeling left-out and confused.
For young children, It's probably a book best kept for one of those 'moments', and read with an understanding parent or older friend.
For older kids and adults, it's a great book for a cheer-up on a bad day.
...and for anyone with an appreciation of art, get this and the rest of Shaun's back-catalogue - in hardback if you can, and treasure them.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shaun Tan's compelling masterpiece about the power of hope,, May 26, 2005

By 

Natalie - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Tree (Hardcover)

Title: The Red Tree
Author: Shaun Tan
Type: fiction/non-fiction
Publisher: Lothian, November 2002

The Red Tree is a masterpiece that uses vibrant colored pictures of intense meaning to take readers on an emotional journey with the red haired girl who appears throughout the book. As the main character she is depicted wandering through numerous imaginary and dreamlike, landscape portraying hopelessness and isolation.

A small child awakes to discover blackness leaves falling from her bedroom ceiling, threatening to silently engulf her. As she wanders around a world that is intricate and puzzling she is overtaken by numerous feelings. The girl is overwhelmed by feelings of despair and sadness. The minimal text on each page conveys feelings and thoughts that accompany childhood depression. The simple and poetic text also communicates complicated themes such as the search for identity, escape from a confined space and lack of control of one's feelings.

When the girl returns to her bedroom at the end of the day, the red leaf is on the floor quietly waiting for her. When readers turn the page, the red leaf has blossomed into a red tree that is full of light and hope. The girl smiles and readers are reminded of the power of hope. Everything seemed hopeless until the child returns to her room to see the red tree. At that moment the child smiles and the beauty and purity of infancy is radiated.

The red leaf in each of Shaun Tan's visual works of art is symbolic as it represents hope, even in the darkest moments of despair and loneliness. The elaborate detail in Tan's illustrations is fascinating and demands close analysis and multiple viewings as much of the artwork in the book summarizes delicate imagery. Tan also uses colour to convey meaning in the final pages, as the red is the predominating colour symbolizing prosperity and happiness.

The book puts forward the idea that childhood depression is an illness that is never without hope. It shows that hope is always there, just like the tiny red leaf that is present throughout the book, even though the girl is oblivious to the glimmer of promise in the shape of a tiny red leaf in the end she finds it. Although the book is quite detailed it leaves out both the causes of the characters state and the influences that are encouraging this constant behaviour of isolation and sadness.

The author of the book The Red Tree puts forward his opinions on childhood depression and the feelings that are accompanied with it as well as the fact that hope is always there. I totally agree with Tan's opinions because I think that they are truly precise and realistic. I believe that hope is always present; we just need to recognize it for it to blossom.

The Red Tree is a fascinating and sophisticated picture book about a sensitive issue that is often ignored in children's literature. The picture book is one that is very interesting and memorable as it stays with people ceaselessly. The Red Tree is a book that I highly recommend for adults. Feelings too complex for words are rendered into an imaginary landscape where the child wanders. It is a compelling story about the power of hope, renewal and inspiration.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking, entertaining picture book, February 16, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Tree (Hardcover)

Written and illustrated by award-winning artist and author Shaun Tan, The Red Tree is the story of a young girl who feels that sometimes days begin with nothing good to look forward to, and downwardly progresses from worse to even worse. She wanders an imaginary and surreal dreamscape of cold and misery, yet there is a curious red leaf which leads her to remember a bright possibility of purity and good things, both here and to come. Richly and imaginatively illustrated, The Red Tree is a thought-provoking, entertaining picture book for children that carries an ultimate message of hope.