Genre 6, Book 3: THE ARRIVAL by Shaun Tan

Image:  Google Images

Bibliographic Data

Tan, Shaun. 2007. The Arrival. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books. ISBN: 0439895294.

Plot Summary

A man travels from his homeland to a new country to find a place to live and a job, then has his family join him in the new country.

Critical Analysis

Written for ages 9-12, this wordless graphic novel tells the story of one man’s journey to a new country to find a new home and a job so he can bring his family there to live with him. Beautifully drawn, the artwork is so detailed that it almost looks like one is looking at old photographs. However, the images used of animals and places often have a strange quality to them, helping the reader understand the confusion and wonder a traveler feels when first arriving to a new land. 

As he searches for a place to stay and work, the man meets other immigrants and learns their stories and experiences that brought them to where they are now. He finds a job in a factory, sets up a little home, and makes some friends in the new land. After some times passes, he is finally able to send for his wife and daughter to come live with him. At the end of the story, we see his daughter go out to play, meet a new arrival, and help her find her way in this strange new land. This is a novel that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, one that tells a timeless story of immigrants and new beginnings.

Awards

• New South Wales Premier's Literary Award
• 2006 Cybils Award
• Bologna Ragazzi Award, Special Mention
• Spectrum Award
• Junior Library Guild Selection
• World Fantasy Artist of the Year
• A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007
• A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007
• Amazon.com's Best Teen Book of 2007
• 2007 Parents' Choice Gold Award
• A Book Sense Winter 2007-2008 Top Ten Children’s Pick
• A New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing
• A New York Times Notable Children’s Book of 2007
• Rocky Mountain News, A Top Ten Book of the Year
• The Columbus Dispatch, A Best Book of 2007
• Booklist Editors' Choice 2007
• A School Library Journal Best Book of 2007
• A Washington Post Best Book for Young People for 2007
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon for Fiction
• ALA Notable Children's Book, 2008
• ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, 2008
• ALA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2008
• Horn Book Fanfare Book 2007
• Metropolitan Home Magazine's Design 100, 2008
• An IRA Notable Book for a Global Society, 2008
• 2008 Locus Award, Best Art Book
• 2008 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, special citation for excellence in graphic storytelling
• CCBC Choices 2008
• Nominated for an International Horror Guild Award, Illustrated Narrative

Reviews

Booklist: “Recipient of numerous awards and nominations in Australia, The Arrival proves a beautiful, compelling piece of art, in both content and form. … Here, he has distilled his themes and aesthetic into a silent, fantastical masterpiece. ... Strong visual metaphors convey personal longing, political suppression, and totalitarian control; imaginative use of panel size and shape powerfully depicts sensations and ideas as diverse as interminable waiting, awe-inspiring majesty, and forlorn memories; delicate alterations in light and color saturate the pages with a sense of time and place. Soft brushstrokes and grand Art Deco–style architecture evoke a time long ago, but the story's immediacy and fantasy elements will appeal even to readers younger than the target audience, though they may miss many of the complexities. Filled with subtlety and grandeur, the book is a unique work that not only fulfills but also expands the potential of its form.”

 

The New York Times Book Review: "Tan has been walking the fine line between picture books and graphic novels for years now. . . . With ‘The Arrival,’ Tan the graphic novelist has finally arrived. . . . Reading ‘The Arrival’ feels like paging through a family treasure newly discovered up in the attic. However, the sheer beauty of Tan's artwork sometimes gets in the way of his narrative. His panels, like the best photographs, capture the timelessness of particular moments, which can inadvertently endanger the illusion of time passing that a graphic novelist strives to create. ‘The Arrival’ would almost rather be looked at than read. Still, that his biggest flaw is making his pictures too pretty speaks to Tan's skill as a storyteller."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: "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."

Connections 

Enrichment Activities

Enrichment activities for this book include:

• http://makingvisualnarratives.com/4th-grade-curriculum/design-your-own-alphabet-using-shaun-tans-the-arrival-for-inspiration  
• http://www.yourlibrary.ws/ya_webpage/ritba/ritba09/arrival.htm

An enrichment activity website for immigration is: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/unitplan.jsp?id=201]

 

An enrichment activity website for comics / graphic novels is: http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/07/05/comics-in-the-classroom-100-tips-tools-and-resources-for-teachers/

Related Readings

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, 2007)
• American Born Cheese by Gene Luen Yang (Square Fish, 2008)
• Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch (Amulet Books, 2010)
• Gathering Sparks by Howard Schwartz (Roaring Brook Press, 2010)
• The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar (Pantheon, 2007)
• Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson (Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 2010)
• Coraline: The Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 2009)

Other books by Tan:

• Lost and Found: Three (Lost and Found Omnibus) by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2011)
• Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009)
• The Red Tree by Shaun Tan (Lothian, 2010)
• The Bird King and Other Sketches. by Shaun Tan (Templar, 2011)
• The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan (Lothian, 2010)
• The Haunted Playground (Shade Books) by Shaun Tan (Stone Arch Books, 2007)
• Flinch by Shaun Tan (Gestalt Publishing, 2009)