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The Arrival

by Shaun Tan
The Arrival

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780439895293
ISBN10: 0439895294
Condition: Standard


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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life — he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.

Shaun Tan evokes universal aspects of an immigrant's experience through a singular work of the imagination. He does so using brilliantly clear and mesmerizing images. Because the main character can't communicate in words, the book forgoes them too. But while the reader experiences the main character's isolation, he also shares his ultimate joy.

Review

"A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow, Tan gives us a story filled with cityscapes worthy of Winsor McCay." Jeff Smith, author of Bone

Review

"A magical river of strangers and their stories!" Craig Thompson, author of Blankets

Review

"Filled with both subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form." Booklist, starred review

Review

"An astonishing wordless graphic novel blends historical imagery with science-fiction elements to depict — brilliantly — the journey of an immigrant man from his terror-beset land of origin to a new, more peaceful home....It's an unashamed paean to the immigrant's spirit, tenacity and guts, perfectly crafted for maximum effect." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Review

"Considering the terror that fuels debates about immigration throughout the western world, Tan's message is pointed and utterly relevant, not just to teens struggling with their own feelings of alienation, but to all humankind. It is an absolutely marvelous book." Voice of Youth Advocates

Review

"One of Australia's premier artists explores the immigrant experience in a wordless graphic novel. Along with the protagonist, readers enter a new country — with everything appearing bizarre and surreal. It's one of those rare books that speak on different levels to readers ages 9 to 90." Boston Globe, Pick of the Week

Review

"A wordless tour de force" Time Out New York Kids

Review

"Don't mistake this astonishing work by Australia's Shaun Tan for a picture book, even though it consists of nothing but pictures....Hundreds of sepia-toned drawings, some tiny, some panoramic, all pulsing with detail, combine to produce an effect reminiscent of silent movies or mime, the absence of words forcing the eye and the brain to work harder. The Arrival is neck-and-neck with Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret for most original children's book of 2007, but unlike that uneven effort, it's definitely not just for the young." The Washington Post

Review

"Tan's fictional newfound land is overwhelmingly glamorous, alien, and plausible, conveying culture shock in a way that straightforward historical chronicles simply can't manage. This could electrify a curriculum, provoke conversation if shared within a family, or simply bring a reader a startling new way of seeing a familiar story." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

About the Author

Shaun Tan is the author and illustrator of the award-winning, bestselling graphic novel The Arrival, and also Tales from Outer Suburbia, a collection of illustrated short stories. Both books were named to the New York Times list of Best Illustrated Children's Books. He won an Oscar for his short film "The Lost Thing" based on a story in the book Lost & Found: Three by Shaun Tan, and he is also the recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Shaun Tan lives in Melbourne, Australia.

5 8

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 5 (8 comments)

`
Parmathule , October 24, 2014 (view all comments by Parmathule)
The Arrival is a graphic novel in the fullest sense; the entire story is told exclusively with images. It is the story of a man who immigrates to a foreign land to escape oppression and to make a better life for himself and for his family who will join him later. The voyage the protagonist makes is as much an internal one as an external one. He is totally immersed in the unfamiliar: language, food, clothing, furniture, appliances, vehicles, architecture, even plants and animals. Not a single element of his life remains unchanged. For instance, one comical scene has the new arrival trying to figure out how to use the water spigot in his room. Priceless! The world he left behind is a dark, dreary, sinister, claustrophobic sort of place, while the new world is a bustling, bright, animated and welcoming one. Even so, adjustment is difficult. Tan has created an alphabet for the new country so that the reader can experience the disorientation of encountering undecipherable signage, just as his protagonist does. It is remarkable how Tan manages to fully engage the reader in the difficulties inherent in the immigrant’s predicament without using a single word, and his dreamy, sepia-colored artwork is stunning. This book has the size and format of a traditional children’s picture book, but I would not consider it suitable for young children. I think the subtlety of the story told through the images would likely be lost on the very young, and the images of war are quite sinister and menacing.

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Davey929 , December 27, 2009 (view all comments by Davey929)
I found ‘The Arrival’ in the children's section of Powell's, but it is far more than a picture book. It is a graphic novel that needs no words to tell the story. The pictures are beautifully done, depicting a bizarre, lovely, and terrifying world. The story of alienation and immigration to a strange new place appeals to anyone who has felt they didn't quite fit in to another culture.

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crowyhead , September 08, 2009 (view all comments by crowyhead)
This is a gorgeous, wordless graphic novel that uses a combination of familiarity and surreality to tell what is at its heart simply the story of an immigrant in a new land. Not only would I happily have almost any page from this book framed on my wall, but Tan manages to tell a complete story with absolutely no words, no small feat. The individual stories and the emotions of the characters come through loud and clear, and the end result is a book that had me finishing it and flipping back to the front to read it all over again.

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kozie , January 19, 2009
this is absolutely wonderful. even from just the drawing them selves draws attention. the little details that is drawn into the frames, the indepth story of a imaagrant. it can be so much agreed by all and know the feeling. shaun tan has shown that. and he also has shown that emotion that most canot know by images that creates the emotion. recommend 100%

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Shoshana , December 19, 2008 (view all comments by Shoshana)
Despite the Arthur A. Levine imprint, this gorgeous and startling book is not a children's or young adult publication, though it would be appropriate for readers of any age. Tan depicts the immigrant's experience poignantly, viscerally, and with great complexity, all without any text. (Text does appear, but like the unnamed immigrant protagonist, we cannot read it.) Tan has done a wonderful job of evoking the wonder and the fear inherent in new surroundings. Each of the characters the protagonist interacts with has his or her own back story to explain the circumstances that compelled their travel (or flight) from their homelands. Tan's drawings depict emotion and action very clearly and it is easy to follow the narrative. Subsequent readings reveal both ominous and hilarious details. The creatures that accompany people in the new world reminded me a little of Philip Pullman's daemons, as visualized by Edward Gorey.

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grevillea , April 06, 2008 (view all comments by grevillea)
A beautifully illustrated graphic novel that captures the immigrant's experience.

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Jonathan , January 04, 2008 (view all comments by Jonathan)
Shaun Tan tells a moving story about immigration without using any words; his surreal images perfectly capture the feeling of being lost in a totally unfamiliar world.

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StephenWright , November 27, 2007 (view all comments by StephenWright)
While it doesn't take long to "read", its artwork is just so captivating. The reason I put read in quotes is that there aren't any words, just pictures. But the artwork that is there, is just outstanding. You could take forever just engrossed in the beautiful artwork that is inside of this book. The story that is told through this artwork is really great. Its basically the story of a man who travels to a new place and is dependent on the kindness of strangers. All in all, a great story that everyone should take a look at. May I also recommend The Fates by Tino Georgiou.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780439895293
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
10/01/2007
Publisher:
SCHOLASTIC INC.
Pages:
128
Height:
.60IN
Width:
9.00IN
Thickness:
.50
Age Range:
12 and up
Grade Range:
7 and up
Number of Units:
1
Illustration:
Yes
Copyright Year:
2007
UPC Code:
2800439895295
Author:
Shaun Tan
Illustrator:
Shaun Tan
Author:
Shaun Tan
Media Run Time:
B
Subject:
Stories without words
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General
Subject:
Immigrants
Subject:
Cartoons and comics
Subject:
Children s-General

Ships free on qualified orders.
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