The Red Tree (Hardcover)

by Shaun Tan (Illustrator)

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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simply Read Books; illustrated edition edition (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: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #238,808 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 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.

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

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book illustrating depression, February 17, 2003

By	Jennifer Merrill (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Red Tree (Hardcover)

As someone who has anxiety and chronic depression, the pictures in this book express the reality of my feelings. I can now open up to a certain page and tell my husband, "I feel just like this picture," and he begins to understand. The pictures portray feelings and emotions superbly. The text helps a bit by getting your mind thinking about what emotions are being shown in the illustration. If you are someone with depression, or know someone with depression, this book can help with the communication that words sometimes can't explain.