Hi, this is a blog of thoughts on all and anything to do with children’s literature, reading it, writing it and using it in a classroom. You are very welcome to join me in adding to our collective knowledge about the children’s literature environment
Here’s a comment to start things off:
Shaun Tan’s The Red Tree is one of those visually sumptuous texts which renews the debate about what constitutes a picture book and for whom is it intended. The rich and varied illustrations balance a problematic text dealing with what for many is depressing reality, where the final message could be construed as a message of hope. Tan’s visual competency provides an increasingly bleak parallel to the textual exploration of what constitutes a really bad day. The protagonist travels through an alienating and threatening world. The images become increasingly menacing as the protagonist becomes more dislocated from her everyday world. She is reflected as increasingly dominated and disenfranchised by the illustrations, and even the moment of empowerment leaves the reader feeling that tomorrow may not get much better.