Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2008 *Starred Review* After teaching the graphic format a thing or two about its own potential for elegance with The Arrival (2007), Tan follows up with this array of 15 extraordinary illustrated tales. But here is an achievement in diametric opposition to his silent masterpiece, as Tan combines spare words and weirdly dazzling images—in styles ranging from painting to doodles to collage—to create a unity that holds complexities of emotion seldom found in even the most mature works. The story of a water buffalo who sits in a vacant lot mysteriously pointing children “in the right direction” is whimsical but also ominous. The centerpiece, “Grandpa’s Story,” recalling a ceremonial marriage journey and the unnameable perils faced therein, captures a tone of aching melancholy and longing, but also, ultimately, a sense of deep, deep happiness. And the eerie “Stick Figures” is both a poignant and rather disturbing narrative that plays out in the washed-out daylight of suburban streets where curious, tortured creatures wait at the ends of pathways and behind bus stops. The thoughtful and engaged reader will take from these stories an experience as deep and profound as with anything he or she has ever read. - Copyright 2008 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/01/2009 Gr 4 Up— For those who loved Tan's surreal and evocative The Arrival (Scholastic, 2007), the Australian author follows up with a brilliant collection of illustrated vignettes. Fifteen short texts, each accompanied by Tan's signature black-and-white and full-color artwork, take the mundane world and transform it into a place of magical wonders. In the opening tale, a water buffalo sits in an abandoned suburban lot, offering silent but wise direction to those youngsters who are patient enough to follow his guidance. In "Eric," the title character (a tiny, leaflike creature) visits a family as a foreign exchange student and fascinates them with his sense of wonder. His parting gift to the family is sure to warm even the coldest heart. Other stories describe the fate of unread poetry, the presence of silent stick figures who roam the suburbs, or an expedition to the edge of a map. In spirit, these stories are something akin to the wit and wisdom of Shel Silverstein. The surrealist art of Rene Magritte also comes to mind, but perhaps Chris Van Allsburg's beloved The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Houghton, 1984) comes closest as a comparable work. While somewhat hard to place due to the unusual nature of the piece, this book is a small treasure, or, rather, a collection of treasures.—Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada - Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 03/01/2009 Strip away the banalities at the center of contemporary suburban life and you’ll find wonder at its edges-that would seem to be the common theme that connects these richly illustrated short stories and vignettes by Australian author/illustrator Tan. Over a dozen stories of slight to extreme weirdness include “Eric,” about a very foreign foreign-exchange student; “Undertow,” which describes a neighborhood’s reaction to the sudden and surprising appearance of a dugong (kin to the American manatee) in a front yard; and “Our Expedition,” about a pair of brothers who explore the terrain where the map ends. Each tale sets in motion a mystery that points to the philosophical questions that underlie quotidian experience: Is the map the territory? What happens to the things we lose, break, or just let go of? What do outsiders see that we miss? How does love grow? What happens to our potential when we stop asking questions? Whence justice for those who are loyal, but weak and disempowered? What is the true nature of sacrifice? What is worth danger and risk? What have we forgotten? Tan finds remarkable ways to get at these big questions, creating stories that are accessible and sometimes funny but that require active reading and that preclude tidy, concise reductions to a single meaning or theme; the use of first-person narration, often combined with a second-person address, pulls readers into these strangely unstrange worlds. The illustration styles vary by story to echo and enhance the emotional content and set the tone as well as to carry the narrative on occasion: there’s painted suburban noir and softly textured monochrome, fake newspaper stories and scrapbook-style narratives (creative layout extends to front and back matter, which depict the book as a parcel and library book). As in Tan’s The Arrival (BCCB 1/08), the craftsmanship is impeccable; here the combination of words and visuals creates a stunning overall effect, inviting lingering and many return visits. KC - Copyright 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.