The supplementary prompts below can be used for deeper analysis once the children have had time to formulate their own ideas. The cover Creature: Paintings, Drawings, and Reflections is a new collection of images from artist and writer Shaun Tan's best-known works as well as more than 100 illustrations that have never been seen before. The book also includes essays by the artist. About Shaun Tan" Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness Program Retrieved 27 December 2005

Although aimed at younger readers, this resource offers many ideas that can be adapted for older students.

Find a Scheme of Work

Describe the different visual elements used to represent the boy’s world and the world of lost things. Why do you think these two places are depicted in the way they are? Artist and author Shaun Tan creates semi-mechanical and animalesque beings that seem born of both the natural world and industrious humans. Whimsical, cerebral, socially aware, grotesque and cuddly, Tan's artistic universe runs the emotional gamut.

It’s not as if the book is a puzzle punctuated by clues, that needs to be solved. Unlike a riddle, there is no clear answer to these questions, which remain open. I myself continue to find new meanings in the words and pictures as I did when producing the story over the course of a year. It could be read as a critique of economic rationalism, for instance, or the transition from childhood to adulthood; about the value of whimsy, our obsession with categories and bureaucracy, about alienation, claustrophobia, altruism, disability, entropy and the possibility of joy in places where this has been extinguished. a b c d e f g h Haber, Karen (December 2001). "Shaun Tan: Out of Context". Locus (12) . Retrieved 25 July 2007.

This response to The Lost Thing will be the culmination of previous writing tasks that have given students opportunities to articulate their interpretations and understanding of theme. Panel discussions are ideal vehicles through which students demonstrate understandings and gain experience in engaging in literary discourse. The audience will also benefit from each panel discussion by listening to other interpretations and responses to The Lost Thing. Since the panel discussion requires students to synthesise knowledge and skills gained over previous lessons, extensive preparation time is not required. Even so, at the Year 7/8 level students may gain in confidence by having a practice run within their friendship groups.

Ben Wright’s staging tells the confused story gently, and as clearly as it can. The cast, all amplified, mixes opera and musical theatre voices, with Joel Brown engaging as Shaun, the central figure. Conducted by Timothy Burke, Maxwell’s score, full of cycles and repetitions, perks up with the little arias for Victoria Oruwari and Bethan Langford, and there’s a nice bossanova about the hell of filling in forms, but too much of it is static and slow, content to accompany the narration when it could be telling the story.Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the ‘good drawer’ which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full-time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne. Tan describes himself as a slow worker who revises his work many times along the way. He is interested in loss and alienation, and believes that children in particular react well to issues of natural justice. He feels he is "like a translator" of ideas, and is happy and flattered to see his work adapted and interpreted in film and music (such as by the Australian Chamber Orchestra). [10] Influences [ edit ]

Un ragazzo occhialuto e spettinato nota una strana creatura sulla spiaggia. Una cosa strana, una specie di teiera con i tentacoli. Sembra spaesata, o forse solamente abbandonata. E si lascia avvicinare senza timore dal ragazzo che decide di cercarne il proprietario. Activity: After looking at the physical qualities of the lost thing and other “things” in the utopia scene, student can draw or construct their own “thing”; these creations can then be hung around the classroom to create a menagerie of “things” . A range of Shaun Tan images are presented here from various books, which can be useful when needing a projection for teaching objectives. E’ curioso che ho letto il libro in modo abbastanza rapido, curandomi soprattutto della storia senza dare troppa importanza ai dettagli. E alla fine sono sbottato in un: “ e allora?”Viewing The Viewer‘: postmodern picture books for teaching and learning in secondary English education. The set of resources available here are based on Shaun Tan’s collaboration with Gary Crew in The Viewer. The “Scaffold for Reading Visual Images” can be easily adapted and used for The Lost Thing. Year 7: (ACELA1782) (ACELA1763) (ACELT1619) (ACELT1620) (ACELT1803) (ACELY1804) (ACELY1722) (ACELY1724) (EN4-1A) (EN4-3B) (EN4-8D) (EN4-2A) (EN4-5C) (EN4-6C) Ecco; il libro ci spinge a cercare di evitare di fare proprio questo. Correre per arrivare a una fine per poi chiedersi “ e allora?” As students respond to each of these questions they can attach their post-it notes under the appropriate heading. Each of their contributions should be initialed for later use and to help facilitate discussion. The initial contributions can serve as stimulus for an early discussion with the teacher choosing some interesting responses and asking students to expand on their thoughts. Do you think the lost thing is a machine or a living creature? Does it have feelings and emotions? How can you tell?