TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA BY SHAUN TAN

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan is a picture book, but it's definitely not one for children.

The book contains ten short stories, all with very different topics and dealing with very different issues, and all accompanied by Tan's customary beautiful artwork - a combination of scrapbooking, water colours and pen-and-ink drawing.

(As there are multiple stories in the book, I've decided to focus on two in particular)

Distant Rain

"Have you ever wondered what happens to all the poems people write?"

Distant Rain tells the story of these poems. It is a beautifully set out story, with pieces of paper with different handwriting on them all over the pages, some little pieces with just one word, others with a few sentences. They are accompanied by black, white and brown pencil sketches. The story really makes the reader think about how every person in the world has secrets, and what the consequences would be if every person in the world suddenly knew random secrets and emotions from other, anonymous people.

Alert But Not Alarmed

This story tells of a time when the government has forced everyone to store an intercontinetal ballistic missile in their backyard, but the people have started making them pretty and giving them other uses. The story is accompanied by a double-page illustration of these missiles in the neighbourhood, and they do look quite pretty. Through the story, Tan has made a comment about how much of an affect terrorism and war have on our everyday lives. We all know the expression "war is in our own backyards", or something like that, and through this story, Tan is saying that war is closer than we may think it is. However, by saying that the families are converting their missiles into pizza ovens and kennels and even decorating them with patterns and fairylights, Tan is also drawing our attention to the fact that we can do something about war and terrorism, and we can stand up to the government. The missiles are kept by ordinary people, and through this story, Tan is saying that war is not started by governments, but by ordinary people.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for people: aged 10+ if they want to read it on a superficial level, just as a story book, more like 14 or 15+ to read it on a deeper level
Warnings: nothing much... It's just not a picture book for little kids!