''The Red Tree'' (2001), written and illustrated by

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated inc ...

, is a

picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

that presents a fragmented journey through a dark world. The text is sparse and the illustrations are dark and

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor * ...

. The story is based on images inspired by the experience of depression. The main character is a lonely

red-head Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a Human hair color, hair color found in one to two percent of the world population, human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of northern Eur ...

ed girl who goes about her day feeling alienated, despondent, and lonely. The illustrations depict her in various

abstract Abstract may refer to: * ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott * Abstract of title a summary of the documents affecting title to parcel of land * Abstract (law), a summary of a legal document * Abstract (summary), in academic publishi ...

situations that metaphorically depict her feelings. Almost unnoticed in each picture is a small red leaf (symbolising

hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

). At the end, the little girl stands smiling at a beautiful red-leafed

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing in her bedroom. This little tree that has now beautifully blossomed in the center of her room is symbolized as her reward for the hardships she has been through in her life. This book is one of many picture books by Tan, who also addresses issues such as immigration and cultural differences.

Awards

*Winner of NSW Premier's Literary Award

Patricia Wrightson Prize The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

2002 *Shortlisted for APA Design Awards: Scholastic Best Designed Children's Book 2002 *Shortlisted for

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the West ...

: Children's Books 2009

References

* . * . * .
''The Red Tree''
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

2003 children's books Australian picture books Australian children's books Lothian Books books {{child-picture-book-stub