Tales+from+Outer+Suburbia

Synopsis/Review
Tales from Outer Suburbia is an anthology of short stories written/illustrated by Shaun Tan. The stories are all set in the suburbs of Australia and involve fantastic, science fiction influenced situations occurring in very normal places and the reactions that these events induce. The illustration style varies from some being pencil drawn black and white, which is reminiscent of his 2006 story the arrival, while others are full of color and made to look like a collage. One short story, Eric, tells the tale of a foreign exchange student who has come to stay with a family. The written portion of the story explains the hardships and curiosity that a foreign exchange students face, however, the illustrated accompaniment shows that Eric is in fact an alien or unworldly creature. Some of the short stories, such as is the case in Eric, need the illustrations in order for the reader to understand the whole story, while others, such as the case in Undertow, a tale of a plant eating mammal appearing in the front yard of a suburban family, could be understood without the illustrations to follow. Some of the tales are as short as a few paragraphs, while others are several pages long. Lovers of the Twilight Zone will like this book as most of the stories rely more on ironic twists as apposed to relying on terror or fright. This book is recommended for children ages 11-13 but that should not limit the readership as this book could be enjoyed by people of any age.

Author Bio
Shaun Tan was born in 1974 in Fremantle, Western Australia. He grew up in the suburbs of Perth, Australia with his Mom, Dad, and Brother. While in school, he was greatly influenced by the science fiction series the Twilight Zone, and the work of science fiction author Ray Bradbury. It was during this period that he began to write short stories and illustrating. While in school, he began illustrating for a Perth-based magazine called Eidelon and he would continue to do so for ten years. His first illustrations were published in 1990 in Aurealis magazine. He originally wanted to study science in college but after winning a science fiction illustration award in the United States, instead, changed his major to the arts and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Australia in 1995. He started out as a freelance artist, illustrating other people’s work, but had his first book, The Playground, published in 1997. His illustrations are often first done in pencil and usually always begin in black and white. His work is very detailed, as his 2006 book, The Arrival, took 5 years to complete. The Arrival won Book of the Year New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award and has been very successful worldwide. He won the 2010 and 2011 Hugo award for Best Professional Artist. He has done concept work for the films Horton hears a Who and Wall E. He directed a short film adaptation of his 1999 work, The Lost Thing, and won an Oscar in 2011.

Historical Context
Tales of Outer Suburbia is the follow up to 2006’s award winning book, The Arrival. It has received mostly positive reviews and was voted one of the top ten Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review.

Other Children’s Literature
The Arrival, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, The Playground, The Lost Thing(film adaptation), Horton Hears a Who, Wall E

Themes
Suburban life, science fiction, and reactions to the surreal.