Tan, S. (2001) "Picture Books: Who Are They For?", AATE/ALEA Joint National Conference Retrieved 27 December 2005 Hugo Award Nomination list". Denvention. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008 . Retrieved 29 March 2008. Provide students with copies of the document, The Lost Thing: making meaning with other art (PDF, 165KB). Teachers should model the first exercise of Part 1 where students are asked to identify a difference between Tan’s work and the original, and the effect this change has on suggesting an idea or developing a theme.

The Lost Thing is most commonly considered a picture book, a form which connotes an audience of young children. An argument might be made however, that The Lost Thing works as a graphic short story, in the same way a graphic novel suggests complexity of ideas that elevates it beyond a comic book. The richness of detail, depth of ideas and cultural references and allusions enable adults to gain much from it, while the simplicity of narrative and quirky humour appeals to younger readers. Engaging in a discussion with students about audience and picture book expectations will be a fruitful way to foreground concepts of audience and form. Shaun Tan has written in some detail on this subject in an essay called, “ Picture Books: Who are they for?”, in which he offers a number of interesting insights highly relevant to a study of The Lost Thing. Visual style and conventions The Arrival was again projected on a screen to an orchestral score, performed by Orkestra of the Underground with 18 pieces created by musician and composer Ben Walsh. This was performed in the Opera House in Sydney, The Melbourne Recital Centre and Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide. [30]This response to The Lost Thing will be the culmination of previous writing tasks that have given students opportunities to articulate their interpretations and understanding of theme. Panel discussions are ideal vehicles through which students demonstrate understandings and gain experience in engaging in literary discourse. The audience will also benefit from each panel discussion by listening to other interpretations and responses to The Lost Thing. Since the panel discussion requires students to synthesise knowledge and skills gained over previous lessons, extensive preparation time is not required. Even so, at the Year 7/8 level students may gain in confidence by having a practice run within their friendship groups. imagining what happens in the “Utopian” world only glimpsed in the book (perhaps taking one of the things and making it the main character);

Non sequitur:a set of panels seemingly unrelated in relation to images or words (there is no example of this in The Lost Thing). McLoud. S., 1993. This interview presents Tan’s detailed responses to questions about the way he thinks about his work and creativity. Great for comprehension activities.For his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" Tan won the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council, the biggest prize in children's literature. [5] Biography [ edit ] Early life [ edit ] Students are informed that each post-it colour corresponds to a different aspect of The Lost Thing‘s construction. ( An analysis key (PDF, 96KB) has been provided. Insert particular post-it note colours in the first column and making the chart visible to the class). This character is illustrated in a way to produce puzzlement and curiosity. It is an odd combination of mechanical and organic parts, something it shares with other “things” in the book. Tan has written that he got the idea for The Lost Thing after making a sketch of a crab while at the beach. While the lost thing doesn’t speak in this story, the impression is created that – despite its size – it is gentle and vulnerable. Although aimed at younger readers, this resource offers many ideas that can be adapted for older students.

Describe the different visual elements used to represent the boy’s world and the world of lost things. Why do you think these two places are depicted in the way they are? Image 1 shows the first appearance of the lost thing in a long shot, displaying the two main characters …show more content… Students select a theme The Lost Thing explores that they would like to construct their own picture book around. These may include (but not limited to) conformity, dystopia/utopia, creativity, individuality, bureaucracy, modern life, art, friendship or belonging. Different teachers may have placed varying degrees of emphasis upon these themes during the study so some guidance to students will be appropriate. 2. Elements of construction The Lost Thing is a picture book composed by Shaun Tan. The story was about a boy who discovers an unusual looking creature who is deemed to have no fitting in the society. The boy embarks on a journey, in an attempt to find out where the mysterious thing belongs. Throughout the text Shaun conveys his ideas by using a variety of techniques to create a surreal world that merges the everyday with the uncommon.Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Books such as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival have been widely translated throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and enjoyed by readers of all ages. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar’s WALL–E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia; his latest book is Rules of Summer (October 2013). Viewing The Viewer‘: postmodern picture books for teaching and learning in secondary English education. The set of resources available here are based on Shaun Tan’s collaboration with Gary Crew in The Viewer. The “Scaffold for Reading Visual Images” can be easily adapted and used for The Lost Thing. Do you think the lost thing is a machine or a living creature? Does it have feelings and emotions? How can you tell?

Colours: notably, the juxtaposition between the grey bleakness of Shaun’s world and the utopian sanctuary can emphasise certain qualities of each place. Some guidance should be given about the purposes and conventions of panel discussion; principally, it is not a debate where points are given for diminishing the contributions of others in the eyes of the audience/assessor (as in a debate). Rather, all members are responsible for the success of the discussion by maintaining the flow of ideas and elaborating them. This means coming prepared with questions to ask of each other and willingly responding to other members’ comments, whether to agree, disagree, elaborate, seek clarification, or support with other examples. E’ curioso che ho letto il libro in modo abbastanza rapido, curandomi soprattutto della storia senza dare troppa importanza ai dettagli. E alla fine sono sbottato in un: “ e allora?” Following the first reading of The Lost Thing, students are given time to reflect on their initial response using the Think, Puzzle, Explore activity. The responses to this activity can then be used as a reference point for the conclusion of the unit, enabling students to reflect upon how their understanding of The Lost Thing has evolved. Some teachers will recognise this process will be similar to the KWL activity (What I know, What I want to know, What I learned), which is focused on fact accumulation and knowledge. In contrast, this Think, Puzzle, Explore activity promotes more open-ended, inquiry-style responses that invite speculation and tentative interpretations. Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the ‘good drawer’ which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full-time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne.Well, I’ve loved the other books I’ve read by this author-illustrator, and he recently won an Oscar for a film adaptation of this book (an Academy Award winning animation short I’ve not seen, yet) so I was sufficiently curious to get and read a copy of the book. And, yes, I want to see the film; I can see it being an excellent short.