In this mind-blowingly beautiful book comprising twenty-five tales, visionary artist and writer Shaun Tan turns his attention to the relationship between humans and animals in varied urban contexts. A rhino on a motorway. An owl at the side of a hospital patient. An eagle spied at multiple international airports. Giant snails declared “indecent” by the public.
Dreamlike, mysterious and poignant, this is a book to pore over. Both words and illustrations lend themselves to multiple readings, each experience unearthing alternate interpretations, new discoveries, fresh ways of seeing the world. What a sublimely strange feat this is.
Where can we live if not in each other's shadow? World-renowned artist Shaun Tan applies his extraordinary talent to a reflection on the nature of humans and animals, and our urban co-existence. From crocodile to frog; tiger to bee, this is a dark and surreal exploration of the perennial love and destruction we feel and inflict - of how animals can save us, and how we are entwined, for better or for worse. Tales from the Inner City is a truly masterly work, bearing all of Shaun Tan's trademark wit and poignancy in both its prose and exquisite illustrations.
The pictures are worth the visit alone. - The Times (Saturday Review)
Featured in The Guardian's piece 'Shaun Tan becomes first BAME author to win Kate Greenaway medal'. -- Alison Flood - The Guardian
Featured in The Guardian's interview with Shaun Tan: 'We're not being mean to animals - but there is evil in obliviousness'. -- Sian Cain - The Guardian
When it comes to originality and genius, Tan is in a league of his own. This collection of stories and poems with an animal-in-the-city theme are intriguing, though-provoking and at times baffling, asking as many questions as they answer, and the illustrations are sublime. One for quirky teens (or adults) who love art. - The Irish Independent
[...] it will transport and haunt anyone who is fascinated by the secret spaces of a city. - The Guardian
Author
About Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan is the author and illustrator of The Lost Thing, The Red Tree and The Arrival, all of which have won numerous international awards. The Lost Thing animation recently won an Oscar for the best animated short film. The Arrival won Shaun the Bologna Ragazzi Prize and Picture Book of the Year from CBCA 2007 amongst others. Shaun's books have been widely translated. In 2001 Shaun received the 'World Fantasy Best Artist Award' for his body of work. Shaun is the winner of the 2011 Astrid Lindgren prize, the world's richest children's literature award. The award described Shaun as 'a masterly visually storyteller'.
Where can we live if not in each other's shadow? World-renowned artist Shaun Tan applies his extraordinary talent to a reflection on the nature of humans and animals, and our urban co-existence. From crocodile to frog; tiger to bee, this is a dark and surreal exploration of the perennial love and destruction we feel and inflict - of how animals can save us, and how we are entwined, for better or for worse. Tales from the Inner City is a truly masterly work, bearing all of Shaun Tan's trademark wit and poignancy in both its prose and exquisite illustrations.
Tales from the Inner City features in the following genres: Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational
Tales from the Inner City is available in Hardback
Tales from the Inner City was written by Shaun Tan and published by Walker? ?Books Limited
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