Shaun Tan grew up in Perth and works as an artist, writer and
film-maker in Melbourne. He is best known for illustrated books that
deal with social and historical subjects through dream-like imagery,
widely translated throughout the world and enjoyed by readers of all
ages. Shaun is the recipient of an Academy Award for the short
animated film The Lost Thing, the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial
Award in Sweden and the Kate Greenaway Medal in the UK.
This award-winning picture book is about a child awakens with dark
leaves drifting into her bedroom, feelings too complex for words are
rendered into an imaginary landscape where the child wanders,
oblivious to the glimmer of promise in the shape of a tiny red leaf.
Everything seems hopeless until the child returns to her room and sees
the red tree. At that perfect moment of beauty and purity, the child
smiles and her world stirs anew. With sensitivity and wonder, Shaun
Tan's evocative images in The Red Tree open a window to our
inexplicable emotions and tell a story about the power of hope,
renewal and inspiration.