The Red Tree
by Shaun Tan

"sometimes the days begins with nothing to look forward to"

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.

"... but suddenly there it is right in front of you bright and vivid quietly waiting
just as you imagined it would be"


Learn more about 'The Red Tree' and Shaun Tan other works