I trust that they're not too different to me. 'It's quite hard to think about other readers. 'All I can think about, rather selfishly, is my own preoccupations and idiosyncrasies, and just try to make the book look good for myself. 'I don't really know, myself,' he admits. 'Often it needs very little, including colour.'Īnd as for who his audience is, Tan can't really say. 69171/2Fcicada-shaun-tan2Fprod9780734418630.html. 'When I do have pictures, it's like, to what extent does it need pictures and element of pictures?' he says. The artist says before starting a book, his first question is whether it needs pictures at all. The story is told in monochromatic shades of green and grey for the majority of its 32 pages - familiar territory for Tan, whose book The Arrival was illustrated solely in sepia tones. It talks about things that adults understand - data entry, and human resources departments - and it's almost completely devoid of colour. Indeed, it bucks many of the usual story book expectations. That book went on to be turned in to a short animated film - which won Tan an Academy Award in 2011.Ĭicada's protagonist has to navigate a drab corporate environment with hostile colleagues. In The Lost Thing, a boy discovers and befriends a bizarre-looking metallic creature while collecting bottle tops at the beach. His acclaimed 2006 book The Arrival tells the story of a migrant arriving in a confusing new world of floating objects and unusual creatures. While a wide-eyed bug in a suit might seem like a strange idea for picture book, it's a comfortable fit for Tan, who has spent a career creating dream-like worlds of monsters, machinery and oversized animals. He heads to the roof of his grey office building, where an unexpected transformation takes place. On the day of his retirement, with no party and no handshake, the cicada decides it's time to say goodbye. He is in turns bullied and ignored - banned from using the office bathroom, and never given a promotion. The new picture book from multi-award-winner Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and Rules of Summer. In fact, the insect is treated terribly by his human workmates. ISBN 9780734418630 Cicada Shaun Tan The story of a cicada who works in an office, and all the people who don’t appreciate him. Award-winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan says the meaning of his latest book is unclear even to him.

Cicada shaun tan book