Saints fans are doing way too much, and it’s the funniest thing that has ever happened. I’m not even suggesting that Saints fans shouldn’t be mad that their team lost.
A kid finds a lost 'thing' on the beach where he's scavenging for his bottle-top collection. The thing is a large, freakish creature but no-one else really notices it-it's simply not a part of their familiar day-to-day reality. So the kid takes it upon himself to try to find where the lost thing belongs. The Lost Thing is a gently humorous story that will be read and enj A kid finds a lost 'thing' on the beach where he's scavenging for his bottle-top collection. The thing is a large, freakish creature but no-one else really notices it-it's simply not a part of their familiar day-to-day reality. So the kid takes it upon himself to try to find where the lost thing belongs.
The Lost Thing is a gently humorous story that will be read and enjoyed by a wide range of ages. While the narrative is full of typical thoughts of an observant and caring young person, the illustrations provide a surreal and thought-provoking backdrop for this 'lost dog story' with a definite twist. The Lost Thing is the first book that Shaun Tan both wrote and illustrated. This incredible book was made into an academy award winning short film. The Australian artist and illustrator, Shaun Tan, is the Midas of the visual world. His innovative illustrations speak volumes.
Plot: A boy, still curious due to his youth, discovers an odd creature at the beach, a 'Thing' that appears lost. In this mundane monotonous world of sepia, The Lost Thing, goes by relatively unnoticed. The boy sets out to find the Lost Thing a home. Themes: The Lost Thing explores how curiosity and This incredible book was made into an academy award winning short film. The Australian artist and illustrator, Shaun Tan, is the Midas of the visual world. His innovative illustrations speak volumes. Plot: A boy, still curious due to his youth, discovers an odd creature at the beach, a 'Thing' that appears lost.
In this mundane monotonous world of sepia, The Lost Thing, goes by relatively unnoticed. The boy sets out to find the Lost Thing a home. Themes: The Lost Thing explores how curiosity and wonder decay with age, until we, as adults, are simply robotic grey creatures. In a way, we have been conditioned to mirror the colourless world around us. Tan challenges the reader to not follow the many signs and orders that have conditioned us, but rather to witness (and remember) the fantastic that exists.
The Lost Thing is highly critical of our need to label and categorise others. Furthermore, it asks us to not accept our adult world, devoid as it is, of individuality. We are becoming an industrialised model, which makes for a dull urbanscape and even duller society. The Lost Thing also questions the marginalisation of subgroups. The Lost Thing itself, as a creature, could symbolically represent so many things: the poorly labeled and mistreated refugee; the individual who lacks acceptance because he/she doesn't fit into the cultural norm; the child-like zest that's missing in our lives; the wonder we fail to see. Shaun Tan is an incredible artist whose pictures are able to capture nostalgia, and the bittersweet sadness that exists in the contemporary world. Rather than superficial princesses and shallow fairy tales, Tan asks us to also reflect upon aspects of life through original illustrations that are humorous, sentimental, poignant and satirical.
I'm deeply moved by Tan's work. The Lost Thing is a must read.
It's truly marvelous. I am having a moment of going through my collected works of Australian illustrator Shaun Tan. So far this year I have worked my way through what I consider his masterpiece and his more recent. While The Lost Thing is probably not my favourite of his works, it is still an outstanding picture book. There is actually very little to read but you can spend ages pouring over the illustrations including the wonderful background collages of industrial drawings, algebraic I am having a moment of going through my collected works of Australian illustrator Shaun Tan. So far this year I have worked my way through what I consider his masterpiece and his more recent.
While The Lost Thing is probably not my favourite of his works, it is still an outstanding picture book. There is actually very little to read but you can spend ages pouring over the illustrations including the wonderful background collages of industrial drawings, algebraic equations and engineering text.
I think I was most taken with the inside cover of bottle caps each with a tiny technical drawing or equation. 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. It is of note that this was adapted into an Academy award winning animated short film which is also worth tracking down if you enjoy animation. Well, I’ve loved the other books I’ve read by this author-illustrator, and he recently won an Oscar for a film adaptation of this book (an Academy Award winning animation short I’ve not seen, yet) so I was sufficiently curious to get and read a copy of the book. And, yes, I want to see the film; I can see it being an excellent short. It’s probably not fair that I compare all Tan’s books with the brilliant or even; those books are so amazing.
This one is terrific too. Mela Well, I’ve loved the other books I’ve read by this author-illustrator, and he recently won an Oscar for a film adaptation of this book (an Academy Award winning animation short I’ve not seen, yet) so I was sufficiently curious to get and read a copy of the book. And, yes, I want to see the film; I can see it being an excellent short. It’s probably not fair that I compare all Tan’s books with the brilliant or even; those books are so amazing. This one is terrific too. About growing up and changes in perspective, and much more.
The simple story is written well but it’s the illustrations that shine, although the story does its job because I wouldn’t like the pictures anywhere near as much as I do without the context of the story. There’s so much to view on every page, some of it nonsense.
Which is fine; it works. It’s left me rather pensive, but I’m fine with that.
Another winner from Tan, in this case his first book. I have to eventually read them all. I loved this book. The illustrations are a weird combination of dark/depressing and funny/ironic. It is a dark, mechanical world.
Very dystopian, but the characters do normal and very dorky things that make it funny. The text by itself would seem ordinary, which is part of the magic of this book, because it fools the reader into thinking they will see something familiar in the illustration. Of course there is nothing boring or cliche about the illustrations. In fact, it is completely unpredictab I loved this book. The illustrations are a weird combination of dark/depressing and funny/ironic.
It is a dark, mechanical world. Very dystopian, but the characters do normal and very dorky things that make it funny. The text by itself would seem ordinary, which is part of the magic of this book, because it fools the reader into thinking they will see something familiar in the illustration. Of course there is nothing boring or cliche about the illustrations. In fact, it is completely unpredictable: the story, the illustrations, and well.the ending. Very short text. Very interesting, complex illustrations with multiple layers.
The Lost Thing is an illustrated book for young readers by award-winning Australian illustrator and author, Shaun Tan. The story is being told, according to the post card from Suburbia on the back cover, to the reader by Shaun. In it, a younger Shaun, idling around by the beach, spots The Lost Thing. At least, it seems lost to him.
It’s quite big, but when he interacts with it, it seems friendly, and he tries to find out to whom it might belong. Unsuccessful, he eventually takes it with him. His The Lost Thing is an illustrated book for young readers by award-winning Australian illustrator and author, Shaun Tan.
The story is being told, according to the post card from Suburbia on the back cover, to the reader by Shaun. In it, a younger Shaun, idling around by the beach, spots The Lost Thing. At least, it seems lost to him. It’s quite big, but when he interacts with it, it seems friendly, and he tries to find out to whom it might belong. Unsuccessful, he eventually takes it with him. His friend Pete gives some sage counsel, and Shaun takes this large, red, part-metal, part-creature, home. 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.
Tan’s exquisitely composed colour illustrations are presented on a background of what appears to be heavily foxed pages of technical notes and drawings from a textbook. In keeping with this, the back cover has a (rather self-deprecating) sticker that includes “INSPECTOR’S COMMENTS: No perceptible threat to the order of day to day existence. Safe for public consumption”. Damned by faint praise The departmental stamps with their logos and Latin mottos are smart and funny. There is so much detail in the illustration that each page, even the endpapers and the front and back cover, bears minute examination. Young eyes will be fine, but older readers supervising (or reading for themselves: Tan’s books should not be reserved for young readers!) may appreciate a little magnification.
It’s really worth doing this because the text tells you that the young man has a bottle-top collection, but just how serious he is about that is only revealed when you read the title of the fat red book he is carrying around. Clever and insightful, but also heart-warming: Shaun Tan is so talented!! I'm only giving it 4 stars because it wasn't.quite. as magical as The Red Tree. The main character finds a Lost Thing on the beach.
It's huge and red and looks kind of like a giant coffee pot with tentacle-y feet. No one wants it; where does it belong? And who is responsible now that it has been Found? This is another engrossing picture book for older readers, with endless details to be appreciated in the collage illustrations, from bits of text ('No office desk is complete without a good spool I'm only giving it 4 stars because it wasn't.quite.
as magical as The Red Tree. The main character finds a Lost Thing on the beach.
It's huge and red and looks kind of like a giant coffee pot with tentacle-y feet. No one wants it; where does it belong? And who is responsible now that it has been Found?
This is another engrossing picture book for older readers, with endless details to be appreciated in the collage illustrations, from bits of text ('No office desk is complete without a good spool of 20mm industrial-strength Red Tape. ORDER NOW!!!' ) to intricate industrial locales. Although the narration is simple, the story will leave you wondering about the value of paying attention to the world, reaching out to what 'doesn't quite fit,' and how easily those things can fall through the cracks when faced with a federal department whose motto is 'sweepus underum carpetae.'
PERSONAL RESPONSE I like this book very much because of the magic that it has. I also loved the illustrations that I believe were made by the author (Shaun Tan). PLOT The Lost Thing is a story about Shaun, a young guy that likes to collect bottle tops. One day Shaun was walking by the beach looking for bottle tops for his bottle tops collection when he saw a strange creature. The creature looked like a mix of a big red boiler with crab claws and tentacles. It seemed like everyone was too busy to pa PERSONAL RESPONSE I like this book very much because of the magic that it has.
I also loved the illustrations that I believe were made by the author (Shaun Tan). PLOT The Lost Thing is a story about Shaun, a young guy that likes to collect bottle tops. One day Shaun was walking by the beach looking for bottle tops for his bottle tops collection when he saw a strange creature. The creature looked like a mix of a big red boiler with crab claws and tentacles. It seemed like everyone was too busy to pay attention to this creature. He played with it all day and at the end of the day he realized that the creature was lost and out of place. He tried to find its owner and brought the creature to his friend's, Pete's, house.
Pete has an opinion for everything, but he explained that it may not actually belong anywhere. It is just lost. Shaun asked for help from a government agency when another strange creature came by him and said, 'If you really care about the thing you should follow this sign.' The creature gave him a little card with a symbol.
Shaun and the lost thing looked for this symbol in the city until they found it and it took them to a door that opened to a magic world of lost things. CHARACTERIZATION I liked Shaun, our main character. I liked to follow his point of view and way of helping the lost thing. He helped the lost thing until he found a place for it.
Some people are too busy to even look at those things that are lost in life but he stopped to help this creature and gave us a magical short story. IMPACTS OF SETTING This story is set in the near future of dystopian Melbourne, Australia. The story took place on a beach and a city with 'really busy' people. It is a gray world with the only colorful things being the lost things.
RECOMMENDATION I recommend this book to 7 to 10 year old kids of any gender because it is a nice and magical short story. I also would recommend it to people that have an interest in art because its illustrations are just amazing. You can always find a good message in this magical story. Title and brief summary: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan, this book is based around the idea of curiosity and how it decreases with age.
It explores the ideas industrialisation without directly mentioning it. The implied reader: The reader needs to have some awareness of how the world is changing due to industrialisation and how it could effect the community and daily life. Themes: Creativity, loss, lost, belonging, outside the norm, apathy, imagination, suppression of imagination, distraction, pragm Title and brief summary: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan, this book is based around the idea of curiosity and how it decreases with age. It explores the ideas industrialisation without directly mentioning it. The implied reader: The reader needs to have some awareness of how the world is changing due to industrialisation and how it could effect the community and daily life.
Themes: Creativity, loss, lost, belonging, outside the norm, apathy, imagination, suppression of imagination, distraction, pragmatism, bureaucracy, society, congestion, compression, friendship, ignorance, lifestyle, change. Title and brief summary: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan, this book is based around the idea of curiosity and how it decreases with age. It explores the ideas industrialisation without directly mentioning it.
The implied reader: The reader needs to have some awareness of how the world is changing due to industrialisation and how it could effect the community and daily life. Themes: Creativity, loss, lost, belonging, outside the norm, apathy, imagination, suppression of imagination, distraction, pragm Title and brief summary: The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan, this book is based around the idea of curiosity and how it decreases with age.
It explores the ideas industrialisation without directly mentioning it. The implied reader: The reader needs to have some awareness of how the world is changing due to industrialisation and how it could effect the community and daily life. Themes: Creativity, loss, lost, belonging, outside the norm, apathy, imagination, suppression of imagination, distraction, pragmatism, bureaucracy, society, congestion, compression, friendship, ignorance, lifestyle, change. Awards: Children's Book Council of Australia Award Nominee for Picture Book of the Year - Honour Book (2001), Aurealis Award for Convenor's Award for Excellence (2000) Grades: 2-8 A boy out collecting bottle tops notices something strange and lost looking on the beach.
He decides to take it home after deciding that it is a 'lost thing.' Most people don't even notice it until he points it out. His parents don't want him to keep it, so the following day he goes out to find a place for the lost thing Awards: Children's Book Council of Australia Award Nominee for Picture Book of the Year - Honour Book (2001), Aurealis Award for Convenor's Award for Excellence (2000) Grades: 2-8 A boy out collecting bottle tops notices something strange and lost looking on the beach. He decides to take it home after deciding that it is a 'lost thing.' Most people don't even notice it until he points it out. His parents don't want him to keep it, so the following day he goes out to find a place for the lost thing to stay.
There are some very strong themes in this story of industrialization and its effect on life, curiosity and how curiosity decreases as one ages, loss, belonging and fitting in. These themes make me feel that this story would be more appropriate for older students. I think younger students would enjoy the story, but they might not understand some of the messages. The illustrations are unique and lend themselves to the setting of the story.
The pictures are placed almost like images in a scrapbook, with the background being pages out of a technical manual. This adds to the congestion and industrial feel of the story. I read the story first and then watched the film that was made (found on youtube).
I actually got more out of the film than I did out of the book. The pace of the reading was measured, the music lent itself to the seriousness of the predicament of the Lost Thing, and the Australian accent of the reader lent credibility to a) the fact that this is an Australian story and b) the 'foreignness' of the story setting. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, It's strange that something so large can be missed (unseen) by so many people, even the main character's parents when it clearly takes up half the living room! The fact the conversation shifts so quickly and easily suggests that life is too fast paced to enjoy or too full of flashy attention-grabbing objects. It points to the acceptance of routine without stopping to appreciate life itself.
I liked the image of the arrow he was following which was juxtaposed against the usual arrows which were s It's strange that something so large can be missed (unseen) by so many people, even the main character's parents when it clearly takes up half the living room! The fact the conversation shifts so quickly and easily suggests that life is too fast paced to enjoy or too full of flashy attention-grabbing objects. It points to the acceptance of routine without stopping to appreciate life itself. I liked the image of the arrow he was following which was juxtaposed against the usual arrows which were straight, larger, more frequent and in the opposite direction. Given time, though, even our main character conformed to a life where you don't celebrate the differences.
The Lost Thing represents anything we've 'forgotten' which could be family time, childhood, the ability to question, a pasttime, memories, a minority group. Interestingly, the statues remind me of those once revered communist leaders, now 'leftover' in a park for tourists to visit.
It's a nice story about belonging which makes the final image all that more poignant - maybe indicating the final place for us all. For teachers, this resource may be useful. He sounds so Singaporean. KUDOS for a Chinese in Oz! Beautifully illustrated, this book is wonderful. A short history from 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 he sounds so Singaporean. KUDOS for a Chinese in Oz! Beautifully illustrated, this book is wonderful. A short history from 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, concentrating mostly on writing and illustrating picture books. Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since then he has received numerous awards for his picture books, including the CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) Picture Book of the Year Award for The Rabbits with John Marsden. In 2001 Shaun was named Best Artist at the World Fantasy Awards in Montreal. He has recently worked for Blue Sky Studios and Pixar, providing concept artwork for forthcoming films. I'd actually give this 4.5 stars for the graphic element - Shaun Tan's style is really a wonder to behold, it's fresh and unique. But the storyline is - well - somewhat odd and disconcerting (and I like odd, disconcerting stories usually!), so it dropped down in enjoyment rating for me.
The only purpose it seemed to have was to support what was drawn as opposed to illustrate the story that was happening and I felt that, in a book form, it would have been a stronger impact if it had been the othe I'd actually give this 4.5 stars for the graphic element - Shaun Tan's style is really a wonder to behold, it's fresh and unique. But the storyline is - well - somewhat odd and disconcerting (and I like odd, disconcerting stories usually!), so it dropped down in enjoyment rating for me. The only purpose it seemed to have was to support what was drawn as opposed to illustrate the story that was happening and I felt that, in a book form, it would have been a stronger impact if it had been the other way around. Does that make sense? It was a little too meandering - or aimless - at times and it took strength away from the thing as a whole.
Drawings were great though. The humor in this book - both written and visual - make it arguably my favourite picture book of all time. The fact that the much of the art (including the cover) playfully references some of my favourite artists doesn't hurt, either. I'm adding to this review to mention that the animated short film of 'The Lost Thing' - many years in the making - has just this year (2011) made the shortlist for the academy awards. And so it should.
The story's comments on isolation, community, society and connec The humor in this book - both written and visual - make it arguably my favourite picture book of all time. The fact that the much of the art (including the cover) playfully references some of my favourite artists doesn't hurt, either. I'm adding to this review to mention that the animated short film of 'The Lost Thing' - many years in the making - has just this year (2011) made the shortlist for the academy awards. And so it should. The story's comments on isolation, community, society and connectedness are, if anything, becoming more relevant with every passing year, and it's wonderful to see this book being embraced by a whole new generation of readers. Shaun Tan (born 1974) is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books. After freelancing for some years from a studio at Mt.
Lawley, Tan relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in 2007. Tan was the Illustrator in Residence at the University of Melbourne's Department of Language Literacy and Arts Education for two weeks through an annual Fellowship offered by the May Gibbs Children’s Liter Shaun Tan (born 1974) is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books. After freelancing for some years from a studio at Mt. Lawley, Tan relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in 2007. Tan was the Illustrator in Residence at the University of Melbourne's Department of Language Literacy and Arts Education for two weeks through an annual Fellowship offered by the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust. 2009 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist.
2011 he won his first Oscar in the Category Best Short Animated Film for his work The Lost Thing.