Shaun Tan, Genius

This morning it was announced that Shaun Tan has been nominated for an Oscar for his animated short of The Lost Thing.


This is fabulous.

Shaun Tan has been an obsession of mine since THE ARRIVAL first... um... arrived. While he is sold to us kiddie-book types, his work is so gorgeous and thoughtful that all adults should read it, and I hope the Oscar nomination (and hopefully Oscar) will gain him more attention from adults.

Here's my personal Shaun Tan story...

At the NEIBA trade show 2 years back, Shaun Tan was there to promote his TALES FROM OUTER SUBURBIA (also an awesome book... like the Mysteries of Harris Burdick, but with words). He spoke at the children's booksellers dinner. Because my friend Nikki is the best lady on the planet, I got to sit next to him.

Shaun Tan was quiet, obviously exhausted from Australian jetlag, and charming. He showed us drawings he had done as a child, pictures that inspired him for the Arrival, and amazing sketches galore. We caught a brief glimpse of the process that goes into the genius of his meticulous artwork.

Then Mo Willems spoke. Naturally I adore Mo Willems, but you have never witnessed a greater contrast. Loud, funny and fast, he taught us all to draw the Pigeon. He told us that he only wanted to draw things that a 6 year old could draw. After he showed us Pigeon (complete with Picture-Pages-style drawing sound effects), he told us that he's learned that the faster you draw Pigeon, the better it is. You can tell Pigeon's emotions by the placement of his eyes… he had us put the eyes right in the middle (“so it looks like a doughnut”) which means he is “freaked out”.

I sat next to Shaun Tan and watched as he followed the instructions and drew Pigeon, the polar opposite to his own meticulous style.

We all finished our Pigeons and went back to listening to Mo Willems’ outrageous stories. But Shaun Tan wasn’t done. I watched him go back to his paper and start shading, adding details. He drew the most gorgeous Pigeon you’ve ever seen.

After the dinner, Mo Willems came over and said that he wanted to see what it looked like when Shaun Tan drew Pigeon. Studying it, he noted that the shadows made it appear that the Pigeon was hovering… not flying, but floating in some odd way. Shaun Tan looked up, met Mo Willems’ eyes, and said, matter-of-fact, “I had to explain the look in his eyes somehow.”

I will remember that moment forever. And will never get over the huge crush I have on the genius of Shaun Tan.

And I hope that every one of you who hasn’t seen the ARRIVAL seeks it out now. It is one of the most gorgeous books you will ever experience.