Tuesday, May 24, 2011

tales from outer suburbia, by shaun tan

For those of you who are not fans of graphic novels, this is one for you. Were I still in the classroom I would have several of these around to share with students as "mentor texts" to help them see the power of short stories and essays. The piece (I hate to call it a short story--it's more like an essay or poem) Distant Rain, is a lovely piece about poetry that could inspire almost anyone to begin writing a poem. Grandpa's Story is full of wisdom about what makes a marriage work and last. Alert, but not alarmed, gives me hope that we may be able to reduce our war-like mindsets.

Each of tan's stories/essays/imaginings leaves the reader with a feeling of having been touched by a creative mind with ideas that may help us move forward with life and with society. This "graphic novel" gets my highest recommendation

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