Author/illustrator Shaun Tan takes readers on a journey off the map in a collection of tales that disrupt the stereotype of the bland, predictable suburbs. Tan injects a profound sense of displacement into the recognizable landscape in fifteen unusual stories in which a sense of wonder abounds. All the tales are illustrated, although some are told mostly through prose while others are graphic novel style. In each, the reader is grounded by a sense of the familiar, and yet that familiarity is immediately set off kilter, whether by an otherworldly foreign exchange student who leaves a tender gift behind or revelation of a secret sanctuary hidden in every suburban home. Imagine scraps of all the poems written but never shared forming a huge ball of paper that floats into the air, “levitating by the sheer force of so much unspoken emotion.” Touching on themes of isolation, community, environment, and imagination, and above all imbued with hope, Tan’s stories leave ample room for readers to think, discuss, and draw their own conclusions about their meaning. Tan adapts his visual style to suit each story. Some entries are as short as a single page, and many make terrific launching points for additional imagining and storytelling, whether written, drawn, or orally told. (Age 13 and older)

Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia forces readers to go beyond normal literary conventions as they read and scrutinize this book. Bewilderment is normal until a second or third conversation with the text—when an extraor dinary view of possible worlds unfolds. The fifteen short stories, humorous or haunting but always stimulating, combine Tan’s surrealistic art with his ingenious wordsmithing. “Our Expedition” (84–91), told in the first person, offers a modern-day Columbian dilemma: Do the suburbs end where the map ends? The boys’ trek through Tan’s exaggerated suburban landscapes seems unremarkable until the precipitous final page turn. These stories challenge conventional thinking. 2010 USBBY Outstanding International Books List, Spring 2009 Kid’s Indie Next List, 2009 Best Artist–World Fantasy Awards, 2009 CBCA Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009, 2009 New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 2009 BCCB Blue Ribbon Book, Washington Post Best Kids’ Books of the Year, Booklist Editors’ Choices for 2009, 2010 YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, 2010 ALA Notable Book for Children, LA Times Book Prize–Finalist. jfc, lmp

Originally published by Allen & Unwin Australia, in 2008.

Breathtakingly illustrated and hauntingly written, Tales from Outer Suburbia is by turns hilarious and poignant, perceptive and goofy. Through a series of captivating and sophisticated illustrated stories, Tan explores the precious strangeness of our existence. He gives us a portrait of modern suburban existence filtered through a wickedly Monty Pythonesque lens. Whether it’s discovering that the world really does stop at the end of the city’s map book, or a family’s lesson in tolerance through an alien cultural exchange student, Tan’s deft, sweet social satire brings us face-to-face with the humor and absurdity of modern life.