Down Unders: Lost and Found by Shaun Tan

Book Details:

• Written by Shaun Tan

• Illustrated by Shaun Tan

• Published by Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic)

Important Things to Know:

• These stories are dark and deal with things like depression, loneliness, and the problems of colonization.

Why Wombly and I Enjoyed This Book:

• Shaun Tan just does beautiful art. There are so many layers. I've read this book three times, Wombly has read it twice, and each time we see something new. I stared at one of the pages for a good long while, tracing my fingers across every detail I could. And then Wombly started poking me because he wanted to continue with the story.
• The stories are so powerful. They deal with difficult issues while maintaining hope, all without being up front and in your face. There's a lot of use of symbolism. The message is fluid and subtle. I really, really enjoy subtlety in a story. Probably because I tend to be rather terrible at being subtle.
• Wombly loved that Shaun Tan trusted him as a young reader. Sometimes we read Down Under books and it feels like the author doesn't trust Wombly (and other Down Under readers). Like truth has to be sugar-coated or glossed over or forgotten. It was good to feel trusted, to know the author took the reader seriously.

Wombly and I Read This Book Because:

• My friend introduced me to Shaun Tan and I have been reading him ever since. He just came out with a new book Rules of Summer, and I wanted to re-introduce Wombly to Shaun Tan since we haven't read him for awhile.
• We hope that you, too, will read this book and be able to experience these three emotive stories that Lost & Found offers.

You Can Find This Book At:

• Barnes & Noble
• Books-a-Million
• Or an Indie Bookstore near you!