29. The Arrival

When I read this wordless picture book by Shaun Tan (2006), I was rendered speechless. I'm not even exaggerating. I probably pored over the pages for an hour. My belief that wordless picture books are for babies? Gone. Let me tell you about this book.


Everything about it is a masterpiece-- the cover design is made to look like a tattered scrapbook/photo album (indicative of the theme) while the endpages feature rows of wallet-sized photos of immigrants of all ethnicities. The illustrations that fill the book are so luminous, you don't even notice the fact that there are no words of text (unless you count invented symbols as text) nor is there any color. All of the images are either in black/white or sepia tone. The lack of color is especially effective, since Tan often uses light and shadows to illuminate feelings and express somber, frightful, and contemplative moods. For all of the realism portrayed in the emotions of the characters and attention to detail in everyday objects, Tan is by and large a surrealist artist. The world of our lone traveler is filled with strange, almost haunting creatures and bizarre landscapes. His illustrations are not for the faint of heart-- they will scare you and make your eyes well up with tears.

Besides just staring at the aesthetics, Tan has a brilliant story to tell. One man sets out alone, leaving his family behind, to journey to a new country. His land is in ruin, so he must earn enough money to bring his wife and daughter over. He has no idea what strange new ways of life lie ahead of him. Tan alternates between single and double page bleeds designed to make us soak in the surroundings and hang out for a while; then he will have pages of small vignettes, where we get a sense of the passing of time, or the occurrence of an important event. The scenes where he must attempt to communicate with others through gestures and symbols are powerful. Tan's use of an invented language help the reader feel just how hard it would be to be immersed in a completely new world.

For all of the surrealism and bizarre aspects, Tan ultimately tells a realistic story that children and adult immigrants can immediately connect to and non-immigrants can empathize with. He captures the displacement perfectly and shows the perseverance that it takes to succeed against all odds. In the end, there is a sense of warmth between all of the characters as they help each other to survive in the new world. 


The only challenge with this book is that you really have to have this book in your hands...it doesn't work as a read aloud. That being said, I could absolutely see projecting some pages as discussion starters about immigration and the immigrant experience. I could also use this as a clear illustration of visual literacy-- teaching students how to read a narrative through solely pictures. The Arrival compels you to keep turning the page until it is over...then open it up and read it again. This man deserves some major awards for this book.