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Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-545-05587-1

 

Annotation: Using novel mixed media artwork combined with fantastical story elements, Tan unites elements of everyday life in suburbia with extraordinary imaginings in these vignettes designed to illuminate our mundane surroundings.

 

Media: Mixed media.

 

Rating: 5Q/5P.

 

Curricular connections: English/Language Arts, Poetry, Fantasy/Science Fiction.

 

School level: Middle school or junior high, High school.

 

NP 07/29/09

 

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Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, ill. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009.

Shaun Tan writes fifteen imaginative and oddly humorous short stories of life in the suburbs, accompanied by equally creative illustrations.

    - ISBN 978-0545055871

    - Media: Pen and ink, pencil, collage, charcoal, acrylics, watercolor

    - Rating: 5Q/5P

    - *TOP TEN*

 

DPower 8/1/09

 

Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shan Tan. Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., first American edition, 2009. ISBN: 13:978-0-545-05587. Q5/5P

            Tan’s latest picture-book is a collection of short stories that ignite the imagination while giving a nod to the boredom and trouble one gets into while growing up in suburbia. The illustrations range as much as the stories, from a realistic portrayal of an old scuba-diving suit, a pieced together collage of words to European inspired courtyards.

-Christina Gendron, 7/29/09

 

 

Citation:  Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan and Shaun Tan, ill.  New York:  Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009.

ISBN: 978-1-84011-313-6

Annotation: A surrealist collection of tales about living in Suburbia and how strange the people and animals are that live there. Brilliant mixture of the ordinary with the extraordinary, and truly an original voice.

Media: Mixed media collage, pen and ink, color drawings, and paintings (charcoal, acrylics, watercolor)

Personal Rating: 5Q/5P

Curricular Connections:  This would be an excellent book for an English class for teachers to teach “voice.” Tan has such an original vision and mixes a surrealist voice with the ordinary setting of suburbia.  Tan brilliantly questions the reader to think beyond the confines of the ordinary.  For example,  “Eric” is a wonderful story about a foreign exchange student who suddenly leaves. His host family never question his diminutive size but wonder why he left? They discover he was thankful for his stay by planting little flowers in their pantry. The other stories also have interesting questions posed to the reader with unusual twists. Students will love discussing Tan’s unusual voice and original perspective. They could also try writing using a surrealist voice as well. This is a great choice for a creative writing class.

Grade Level or Age Range: Grades 6 though High School

By: Joanne Maher July 25th, 2009

 

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.   New York: Arthur A Levine Books, 2009.

 

Tan, S. (2008). Tales from outer suburbia, New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. (TOP TEN)

ISBN: 9780545055871

As philosophical and emotionally dimensional as any adult work, Tan's idiosyncratic collection of stories leaves the reader anxious to pick the book up and read it again.

Rating 5Q/5P

Subjects: Futuristic Fiction, Suburbia, Cultural Norms, Humanity

Ages: Grades 9-12

Media: Pen and Ink, Charcoal, Acrylics, Watercolor, Photography

 

km 7/31/09

 

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan. Arthur A Levine Books, 2008. 978-0-545-05587

Summary: 12 vignettes -- ranging from less than a page to a dozen or so -- about life in the suburbs, all with an element of the fantastic, illustrated in a wide variety of mediums.

Analysis: Eeeeeeeee... Each of these stories is so unique. They're both words and pictures, unlike The Arrival, and the balance of words and images changes from story to story. The briefest ones are powerful for being so short, as your brain tries to cope with this weird bright twisted shining thing that's just been thrown at it without any space for introduction or conclusion or explicit lesson. And then "Eric", the longest one, is delighful. In feel, it's closest to The Arrival, as it's the story of this strange little alien "exchange student" who comes to live with a human family for a while. Their bemused care of him is so sweet and the utter beauty of the final page after the small charcoal sketches of the rest of the story is just breathtaking. "Alert But Not Alarmed" is kind of like you crossed Ray Bradbury with the Butter Battle Book (the nostalgic boy-with-rocket Bradbury, not the creepy ones). This is appropriate for all ages, but ideal for 4th grade and up...younger kids will enjoy the pictures and some of the stories, but won't really get some others. This is the perfect sort of book for curling up with someone and reading together -- the pictures are too detailed for a read-aloud to a group. Though some of them don't require the pictures to get the story.

Literary Device: "The Nameless Holiday" alludes to the secular traditions associated with Christmas and then twists them marvelously.

Illustrations: Pen-and-ink, charcoal, acrylics, watercolor, collage...different for each story and all beautiful.

Rating: 5/5

Curricular connections: "Distant Raim" could be the basis of a poetry-writing workshop for middle or high-school students. Any of the stories will work well for a language arts unit.

--SLH

 

Collaborative Poetry Workshop (Sarah Hartman)

Key Text: "Distant Rain" from Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan.

Materials: Books of poetry (from the library or distributed in class), scissors, glue or tape, writing implements, blank white or colored paper.

Grade Level: Could work with anywhere from 4th grade up, but this is specifically designed for 6th graders.

Subject: English/language arts.  In an elementary school setting, it could be a multidisciplinary unit exploring the art aspects more fully.

Time allotted: One class period, plus time spent researching poetry in or out of class.

Goals:

    * Students will become familiar with a range of poets and poetry types.

    * Students will be able to use previously-learned literary terms (rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, theme, etc.) to describe poetry.

    * Students will create unique "collage" poems using existing poetry and their own words.

Phase 1: Poetry Exploration

Students will read "Distant Rain" either for homework or in class, as part of a larger unit on poetry.  Students will then read a variety of poetry of their choice for homework over several days.  Other picture books could be suggested for this segment, such as "A River of Words" and "A Poke in the I".  Each student will select one poem or section of a poem of not more than 1 page in length, and write approximately 1 page about why they chose it, using literary terminology learned in class.  Each student will then copy their poem (photocopying, printout, or handwritten) and bring it to class along with their homework.

Phase 2: Poetry Creation

Students will cut up their poems into "poetry fragments": these can be individual words, lines, stanzas, or other sections of the poem that seem interesting.  All poetry fragments will go into the class "poetry cloud" (a bowl or box).  The poetry cloud will then be passed around the classroom, and each student will grab whatever fragments appeal to them, until they have enough for at least a 5-line stanza.

Students will arrange their fragments, combining with their own words and/or illustrations if desired, to create new poems.  These can be rhyming, free verse, or even concrete poetry.  When they are set, the poems will be glued or taped to a blank paper background.

Phase 3: Wrapup

The poems will be displayed around the classroom and a short class discussion will explore what students liked or disliked about the exercise, favorite collage poems, etc.  Poems could be copied and bound together into a class poetry book to be distributed to students or printed in a school publication.

Modifications: English-language learners could explore bilingual or non-English poetry.

-- SLH