The opening endpapers of Hometown and the first page turn are very important - do not rush past these. Shaun Tan himself says of his work: What I like about this book in retrospect is that it is not necessarily sequential and exploits the fact that picture books ... have no specific duration - you can look at things for as long as you want, and at any point without the pressure of linear narrative. (Source)
"Here I am. Gravity keeps me here. Or love, which is kind of the same thing. I've never lived anywhere else, and even if I did, this would always be my hometown. The place where I grew up, the place where all my family are from."
These opening words of Hometown set the scene, introduce the main character and open the potential for an issue or change or a challenge. "I've never lived anywhere else" - is that about to change?
She goes on to say:
"I also love going to my secret place. Just being alone, thinking things over. Wondering if there's more to life than this. If there's more out there for someone like me."
So, what happens? Who arrives to challenge her sense of belonging? Did you see something on the first page?
Shuan Tan is a master of the wordless book and the wordless page spread. In this book pages like this work so well to slow down your reading pace. I found myself taking a breath as I reached each of the wordless pages and one is even surprise fold out.
A spectacularly surreal coming-of-age story about choice, family, and the gravitational pull of belonging. Kirkus Star review
In addition to the wonderful story, the art is absolutely breathtaking. It’s a lovely mix of dreamy pastel colors, surreal landscapes and characters, and delicate details that warrant reading and re-reading just to enjoy it all again and pick out things you might have missed the first time through! History that Never was
Not quite a picture book, not quite a graphic novel and not quite a comic book, and, at 136 pages, significantly longer than most books of its type, Hometown pushes back against any label or box you might find for it. Older children, teens and adults will enjoy grappling with its allegorical meanings and existential questions. Book Page
For this blog post I attended two presentations by Shaun Tan - one in Melbourne with Michael Earp from The Little Bookroom and one in Sydney by Kinokuniya where he was interviewed by Phil Lesnie. I also listed to this fabulous podcast from The Children's Book Review with Bianca Schulze listen to this (or read the transcript if you are curious about the title - Hometown). AND Betsy Bird talked to Shaun too and declared The Arrival her favourite book!! (Do spend 30 minutes, this interview is so insightful).
Some of Shaun Tan's ideas/inspirations I learnt from his presentations are explained in this blog post from the publisher Allen and Unwin.
US Publisher blurb:
If a stranger arrived and told you that the world you knew-your community, your family, and your hometown-wasn't really where you belonged, would you follow them and leave it all behind? Imagine living in a perfect world. You have a loving family, a beautiful home, awesome friends and about three hundred loyal pets. Everything is just as it should be. Until one day, when a stranger arrives. A stranger who looks just like you. A stranger with a very disturbing message . . . Further reading:
I have a couple of favourite pages - the one where the girl and the stranger reach out to touch their hands and the pages where the girl is talking to her sister with the text "I didn't know if she would even care about my problems".
I hope that Hometown is a book that might be read and re-read, revealing different impressions. It can be understood in a literal or metaphorical way: a story about a girl on an alien planet, or a deeper parable about individual identity, the need to ‘feel with your head and think with your heart’, as the narrator’s adoptive mother suggests, no matter what other people say you should think, feel and do. Regardless of family, friends, religion, politics and society, young people especially must always ask their own questions and make emotionally intelligent choices. That’s not always an easy thing to do, the world being a resistant place, full of contradictions, competing principles and powerful opposing forces. But art and literature remind us that there’s always a possible way through, a good and smart and fair way, if only you can imagine it. Shaun Tan Allen and Unwin blog post
In his various talks and interviews Shaun Tan mentioned so many things - here are a few from my notes:
- His early ideas for this story first appeared in a UK Comic anthology "I fell machine". His story was twenty pages with the title "Here I am" .
- In that story the lizard like creature had a name but in Hometown they are called things.
- Notice the way mum has eight arms - mum's are so good at multitasking.
- Is Hometown Science Fiction - Yes but he didn't want to include the usual Sci Fi Tropes. Shaun also mentioned a book by Ursula LeGuin "Always coming home".
- He deliberately did not include a conventional space ship.
- He had in mind a few paintings including one by Andrew Wyeth entitled Christina's World. And others by Arthur Streeton (Gorse in Bloom) and Monet.
- A favourite picture book is The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. (Take a look at my blog post where Shaun Tan contributed a similar idea in a book called Ten-Word Tiny Tales).
- Illustrations by Arthur Rackham are also an influence.
- What if someone says your view of reality is wrong - this is a core idea in Hometown.
Every school and public library will add this book to their collection and for a family it could be an amazing Christmas gift to an older child or to an adult. I am enjoying imagining all the fabulous conversations you will have with your reading companions, family or class.
IBBY Australia are enormously proud of Shaun Tan - winner of the ALMA (Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award) 2011; Hans Christian Andersen IBBY Australia Nominee; IBBY Honour book 2010 The Arrival; Dromkeen Medal 2010; and Kate Greenaway Medal Winner for Tales from the Inner City 2020. Many years ago Shaun Tan generously gifted a limited edition print to IBBY to use as a fund raiser. You can see the image here (sorry they are all sold) and you might like to compare this with one of the girl's friends in Hometown.
As illustrator
The Pipe, by James Moloney (1996) After Dark series
The Stray Cat, by Steven Paulsen (1996) After Dark series
The Doll, by Janine Burke (1997) After Dark series
The Half Dead, by Garry Disher (1997) After Dark series
The Viewer, written by Gary Crew (1997)
The Rabbits, written by John Marsden (1998)
The Hicksville Horror, by Nette Hilton (1999) After Dark series
The Puppet, by Ian Bone (1999) After Dark series
Memorial, written by Gary Crew (1999)
Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (2008)
If you can find this or any of the other After Dark titles they are fabulous to read aloud to Grade 6.
As author and illustrator
The Playground (1997) After Dark series
The Lost Thing (2000)
The Red Tree (2001)
The Arrival (2006)
The Bird King and other sketches (2011)
The Oopsatoreum: inventions of Henry A. Mintox, with the Powerhouse Museum (2012)
Rules of Summer (2013)
The Singing Bones (2016)
Cicada (2018)
Tales from the Inner City (2018)
Dog (2020)
Eric (2020)
Creature (2022)
Hometown (2026)
Do imaginary objects stand up as meaningful metaphors? Do they ‘make sense’ on their own, without being pushed. Being an artist is not about manipulating objects or an audience so much as constantly assessing a series of often accidental and mysterious ideas. Source
