The Red Tree by Shaun Tan

The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
(Melbourne, Thomas C. Lothian, 2001)

The Red Tree is a picture book that treats the very serious issues of childhood loneliness and depression with compassion, and offers hope to the reader that help is available to those affected by these problems. A young girl goes through her day, where the world and her feeling about herself overwhelm her. Tan uses images such as a giant fish and ships, cityscape and landscapes to dwarf the girl and reinforce her feelings of insignificance and disconnection to the world. He privileges certain words such as 'darkness' and 'troubles' by the size of the font used, to re-emphasise that despair that the girl is feeling.

Yet, all through the book Tan offers a symbol of hope to the girl (and the reader), if they search for it. Amid the complexity of the visual images, for example the collage of city buildings, aeroplanes and robot-faced figures, there lies a tiny red leaf which appears in all the illustrations. Whilst the girl is oblivious to its presence, the reader can infer that this represents the hope that will lead to the girl regaining her sense of worth and a realisation that she is not alone, by blossoming into the red tree.

Whilst The Red Tree deals with an issue that is difficult for society to acknowledge and deal with, Shaun Tan has through the use of post modern images created a book that deals in a sensitive way and demonstrates an understanding of depression in a young person.

Do Not Open This Book! by Michaela Muntean

Do Not Open This Book! by Michaela Muntean, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre
( Scholastic Press, New York, 2006)

This is an excellent example of 'book as artefact' where the creation of the story is the story. Cleverly, the story is being created as it is being read: a pig is trying to write a story and is being constantly disrupted by the reader turning the pages. The act of turning the pages is itself a plot device which draws the young reader into the story and gives him/her a sense of control. The pig makes a number of futile attempts to stop the reader from turning pages (including placing a "VERY HEAVY ROCK" onto one page) which helps to create humour as the reader believes he/she is upsetting the pig, making his escalating outrage and gruff manner funnier.

Different types of text are employed to create the narrative - speech bubbles, signs and labels - which challenge the reader to make meaning. Not only is the reader coauthor, but also becomes a character in the story. This is most evident when the pig invites the reader to insert his/her name in a story he has written in an attempt to make the reader mad enough to go away. The postmodern elements combine to create an intelligent, interactive and hilarious book that young readers will find highly engaging.