tl;dr: We follow the news to seem smart. We follow news for entertainment, treating politics like a kind of sport. But does following news really make you smarter, or do you just seem smarter? Are you following the right amount of news, or is your interest in current events perhaps leaving you without time for the small things in your immediate surrounds? Maurice Sendak, internationally acclaimed creator of the illustrated book Where the Wild Things Are (1963), claims that ‘the invention of the picture book’ began in the art of Randolph Caldecott (1836–86) when he developed a ‘juxtaposition of word and picture, a counterpoint … Words are left out and the picture says it. Pictures are left out and a word says it.’ Sendak states adamantly: In the audio commentary that accompanies the DVD of The Lost Thing, Shaun Tan describes the city where the boy lives as having ‘a dead heart’.

A significant feature of Shaun Tan’s writing is the simplicity of the written text. Taken alone, the written text provides little detail about the narrative. The lost thing itself, for instance, could be read as a puppy-like creature if only the words were considered. From the narrow perspective of the written text, then, the narrative is presented in the form of an anecdote which Tan appears to offer directly to the reader: “So you want to hear a story?”. Despite the apparently bizarre nature of his encounter with a strange creature, Shaun (the human protagonist) adopts a dry, matter-of-fact tone, which is in keeping with the colourless place in which he lives. The anecdote itself is bookended by Tan traveling on a tram, a framing device that provides the impression that the anecdote is told within a single tram journey. The Lost Thing is the story of a curious boy who discovers a gigantic, red, machine-like animal that appears to be lost. The boy pities this “lost thing” and therefore, decides that it is his personal responsibility to attempt to find out where this creature belongs. Shaun Tan wrote this book primarily to entertain and amuse his audience; however, he also included various controversial comments on the power of bureaucracy and various other social concerns. The Lost Thing is a picture book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan that was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning animated short film. [1] Plot [ edit ] As students respond to each of these questions they can attach their post-it notes under the appropriate heading. Each of their contributions should be initialed for later use and to help facilitate discussion. The initial contributions can serve as stimulus for an early discussion with the teacher choosing some interesting responses and asking students to expand on their thoughts.

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Representations of belonging: Using the picture books of Shaun Tan. A chart outlining essential aspects of visual grammar, divided into the categories of representational, interactional and compositional meanings.

Plot: A boy , still curious due to his youth, discovers an odd creature at the beach, a 'Thing' that appears lost. In this mundane monotonous world of sepia, The Lost Thing, goes by relatively unnoticed. The boy sets out to find the Lost Thing a home. Colours: notably, the juxtaposition between the grey bleakness of Shaun’s world and the utopian sanctuary can emphasise certain qualities of each place.

This is a chapter from an English text book which offers a unit of work based on Shaun Tan’s The Arrival. While the content would suit older students, there are many activities and lessons that can be adapted to a Year 7/8 study of The Lost Thing. This Reading Australia unit has utilised this text’s coverage of panel transitions in the Close study section. From 2002 to 2010 I worked as part of a small team on a short animated film adaptation of THE LOST THING, produced by Passion Pictures Australia with financing from both Screen Australia and Passion Pictures.The film is 15 minutes long, using CGI (computer generated imagery) with 2D handpainted elements, completed in April 2010. The Lost Thing has screened at various film festivals, with a DVD release by Madman Entertainment in late 2010, with a special edition featuring a small field guide What Miscellaneous Abnormality is That? At the conclusion of this reading get students to record their description of the ‘Lost Thing’ independently and then share with a partner.

This character is illustrated in a way to produce puzzlement and curiosity. It is an odd combination of mechanical and organic parts, something it shares with other “things” in the book. Tan has written that he got the idea for The Lost Thing after making a sketch of a crab while at the beach. While the lost thing doesn’t speak in this story, the impression is created that – despite its size – it is gentle and vulnerable. Year 7: (ACELA1529) (ACELT1619) (ACELT1620) (ACELT1622) (ACELT1803) (ACELY1723) (ACELY1722) (ACELY1724) (EN4-8D) (EN4-2A) (EN4-1A) (EN4-5C) (EN4-6C) The natural opponent is wider society, disinclined to look after the odd things that don’t fit anywhere. This ‘society’ is personified by the parents, who need the Lost Thing pointed out, and even when it’s pointed out, they take no real interest in it. PLAN

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Aust. Journal of Language & Literacy– Music, multiliteracies and multimodality: Exploring the book and movie versions of Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing