The Red Tree

What a tremendous book ... although it's right to expect something truly special from Australia's best picture book illustrator.The text of the book is deceptively simple, and perfectly economical. Its true power is revealled by the images, which are haunting and unforgettable. Although feelings of depression and loneliness strike us all, Tan has found a note-perfect way to depict complex and dark emotions. I've heard (and used) many analogies for the darkness that accompanies depression, but when you see Tan's images, everything else will fall short.So with such themes of darkness, does the book soar? Definitely! The conclusion is unaffected and uplifting, reminiscent of the Australian writer and illustrator Michael Leunig. I cannot, in all honesty, think of any life, at any age, that would not be enriched by this simple, lyrical and moving book. Highly recommended.

As someone who has anxiety and chronic depression, the pictures in this book express the reality of my feelings. I can now open up to a certain page and tell my husband, "I feel just like this picture," and he begins to understand. The pictures portray feelings and emotions superbly. The text helps a bit by getting your mind thinking about what emotions are being shown in the illustration. If you are someone with depression, or know someone with depression, this book can help with the communication that words sometimes can't explain.

Written and illustrated by award-winning artist and author Shaun Tan, The Red Tree is the story of a young girl who feels that sometimes days begin with nothing good to look forward to, and downwardly progresses from worse to even worse. She wanders an imaginary and surreal dreamscape of cold and misery, yet there is a curious red leaf which leads her to remember a bright possibility of purity and good things, both here and to come. Richly and imaginatively illustrated, The Red Tree is a thought-provoking, entertaining picture book for children that carries an ultimate message of hope.

I am an avid collector of children's books, simply for the illustrations. This is my first introduction to Shaun Tan's wonderful artwork, but will certainly not be my last! As I don't have children, I can't say whether the pictures will appeal to them, or not. They're a little dark and may scare some young people. The story is very simple and short and should assuage the feelings of those children who find themselves sometimes depressed and believe they're the only ones. I did think, however, the ending was a little sudden and oblique.

Having gazed in awe for hours over Shaun Tan's previous books (which could be simply 'read' in minutes), I have been drawn to giggles, tears and several art-history references.Shaun's tackled a difficult subject here in childhood depression. He's managed to handle it in such a way that kids who have just had a bad 'moment', and kids that are really having a terrible extended period of time, will not feel alone in their sadness and problems, and will ultimately, hopefully, feel uplifted.Shauns words and images do not talk down to kids in any way. The images are mostly complex, dark, brooding - and filled with enough detail to entrance on many repeat readings.His settings are otherworldly enough to keep up the sense of mystery and distance, but familiar enough to have the reader feel connected with the central figure - a little girl who is sad, feeling left-out and confused. For young children, It's probably a book best kept for one of those 'moments', and read with an understanding parent or older friend. For older kids and adults, it's a great book for a cheer-up on a bad day....and for anyone with an appreciation of art, get this and the rest of Shaun's back-catalogue - in hardback if you can, and treasure them.