This Blog is reserved for students enrolled in RDG 589 spring 2009 650PM class. It will provide the opportunity to discuss and interact with members within small groups a, b, c and d in response to assigned readings.
In his book The Arrival, Shaun Tan is able to convey to the reader a sense of what anyone must go through when immigrating to a new country. Through his realistic as well as surreal images, Tan helps the reader to discover what it must feel like to be entering into an unfamiliar place where everything seems strange and different. Each image leaves the reader trying to figure something out just as the main character in the text is constantly trying to make sense of his new location.
The picture book format makes perfect use of the genre. Because there are no words, the reader is constantly left with questions and thoughts in their minds. They are constantly trying to make sense of what is happening in the text. It is in this way that the text may be harder for older readers because they have background knowledge on Ellis island and the thousands of people who immigrated to the United States in escape of the horrid things going on in their own countries. A reader with abundant amounts of information on this topic is constantly trying to figure out what the connections are to what really happened. A younger reader with only a little background information may better get the full experience Tan has in mind. They read the text not trying to figure out what is happening in relation to another event, but rather just experiencing the sense of not knowing everything, of constantly making sense of a strange world.
Tan is able, without any words, to evoke a sense of cautious curiosity. The reader learns how challenging everything becomes when you are unable to understand words, pictures, or even the scenery. The reader learns along with the main character, how to find a place to sleep, how to prepare the mysterious food, how to find a good job, and most importantly how to communicate in this strange new world. The man makes connections with people and they help him to understand this strange place. They also share their story, each one even more surreal than the last. The reader is able to understand how people must have felt when stories of living conditions were shared. Each story is so different, yet gives a great reason for why they had to flee to a new country. The reader can understand why so many made the trip, but also how each person must have felt when hearing of a new tribulation.
As the text evolves, the man also evolves, becoming more comfortable in this new place. The reader too is going through this same experience. The surreal images are now not so surreal to the reader. The strange animals and food almost seem normal, as they must be feeling to the man.
In the last section of the text, the man is able to bring his family to this strange new world. Because of his hard work, he is able to make a life in this new place. Tan is able to depict a sense of relief and happiness to the reader that although things were challenging, it was all for a good cause. He is also able to show how comfortable the mother and child were in this new country because of all the hard work the man put in prior to their arrival.
This book makes excellent use of the graphic novel genre. It can be read by a variety of readers including those of differing background knowledge on the subject. Tan is able to help the reader to experience what it must have felt like to enter into a new country where everything seems so surreal and strange. He helps the reader to transform their thinking about this new place as the main character does the same. Tan is able to emanate a sense of accomplishment at the end of the text through the progression of feelings, surreal images, and memories within.
I believe The Arrival is a valuable teaching tool for almost any teacher to use in his/her classroom. Both its content and story characteristics lend themselves to a variety of lessons in which this story could be incorporated. I spend a good amount of time teaching my students about inferences and the importance of inferring when one is reading. Considering this is an authentic picture book, all meaning from the book must be inferred. Through examining the faces, the details, and even the backgrounds of the pictures, the reader must use those visual cues to understand what the man is experiencing and how he feels about it. I definitely plan to use this text in the near future to review inferences and show my students another example of how inferring is important in comprehending a text. We also spend some time discussing immigration in my classroom. This book is a fantastic resource for teaching immigration, as it is the story of one immigrant’s experiences coming to a new world and struggling to succeed in his new life. I feel this is a great initiation to an immigration unit, as it lends itself to great discussions about what the man is experiencing from the foreign animals he encounters to the strange foods he must eat. In addition, it also lends itself to discussions about the reasons one might choose to immigrate, why entire families didn’t always make the trip together, and how an immigrant feels in his/her new life. I also feel this book would be wonderful for art teachers to use in teaching students about how to evoke emotion in art. The artwork is gorgeous, and Shaun Tan definitely produces images that emit the actual emotions and feelings associated with one man’s immigration experience. Also, the combination of surreal and realistic images in the book would be a good lesson, as this story uses both types of pictures to depict a very serious and realistic situation. The Arrival is a terrific book for students of all ages, and I especially like the number of critical thinking discussions it lends itself to. It is a great teaching resource for many concepts, and I will definitely be using it in my classroom in the future.
After reading Allison’s post on The Arrival, I too, agree that this is a very emotional book that continues to leave the reader wondering, asking questions, and wanting to know more. I also love Krysta’s connections to the classroom and agree that this is a powerful book to use when teaching students about inferences.
My feelings: I felt this was an engaging and vivid book that conveys a very touching, moving story of a man’s journey. The realistic and surreal images allow the reader to go through a series of emotions: wonder, happy, sad, and hopeful, much like the feelings the character goes through as his leaves his familiar, yet difficult home to find a better place to live. The surreal images allow the reader be placed in the character’s shoes, as I too felt overwhelmed, curious and sometimes afraid of what might come. Shaun Tan truly represents a strange place and uses pictures to open our many senses and make the story come to life.
This is truly one of my first graphic novels of its kind that I have encountered. I have read a plethora of wordless picture books, however, none have been as graphic or touching as Shaun Tan’s perception of a immigrant man’s journey to a new world. Through the cyberlesson, I had a eye-opening experience, as the before, during, and after activities activated my schema and had me critically and metacognitively think about the character and his hardships he overcame as he found freedom in his new, strange world. Reading the pictures left me wanting to know more, as like many, I too, have relatives who made that long, strange journey to Ellis Island. The online resources were extremely valuable, as I was able to learn more about this historical event, find facts, and listen to Tan’s thoughtful discussion on how and why he wrote this book. The online resources quenched my curiously and had me gain deeper appreciation for this graphic novel.
Reading and interpreting the vivid images in The Arrival kept my attention and had me think of my life. Did my ancestor’s experience this hardship as they came to the U.S.? What have I gone through that is remotely similar to this man? Tan’s format is truly effective, as the book takes the reader on an adventure and allows the reader to SEE what it might have been like/felt like to be in the character’s shoes.
As previously stated, The Arrival is one of the first books of its kind that I have ever read. Even though I have read a variety of wordless picture books, I have never experienced the emotion and connection to them as I have with The Arrival. For instance, I have read Sector 7 and Tuesday by David Weisner, Alexandra Day’s Carl books, and wordless picture books by Mercer Meyer, however, they did not have the same effect as this book.
I think learning through wordless picture books can be a very powerful tool, as students are able to build their background knowledge, deepen their understanding and make connections. As seen with the cyberlesson, there are many opportunities for students to write, thus allowing output learning to occur and deepening students’ understand of the text and historical events. This book (and related lessons) can be an effective and powerful unit for many students. Based on the content, I do not think I would use this book in its entirety with my first-grade students. Instead, I might use a picture or two to have students infer how the character’s feels. I feel this is an appropriate book for ages 10 and up and could be adapted within my grade levels as well as a great addition to a school’s integrated language arts curriculum.
Lastly, the websites connected to the cyberlesson provided a wealth of information and allowed me to think more critically about Tan’s purpose for telling this powerful story of a migrant man and his difficult journey to find freedom. Again, this would be a powerful unit on immigration for upper elementary students and beyond.
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is a wordless, picture book filled with realistic and surreal images that capture the true feeling of what it was like to be an immigrant in a new land. The hand drawn pictures allow the reader to connect with the main characters’ emotions and expressions as he makes his heroic journey. Tan created almost a “comic book” feel where each picture changes slightly to form the dramatic detail he was hoping for. As you are reading, you are immediately taken back by the incredible detail in the illustrations that allow you to visualize the text that would accompany the dramatic pictures. At first glance, the surreal images of buildings and animals seem to be out of place with the theme of the story. Once realizing the importance of these images and actually placing yourself into the characters shoes, you are able to see how Tan creates an immigration book unlike any other. He develops this fictitious, magical place with many unanswered hard to solve questions, which proved true to the immigrants initial reactions in a new country. Like the main character in the story, the immigrants were faced with the problems of finding shelter, work and friends. Tan proves how scary, difficult and unfamiliar it can be in an unknown place. Tan has designed an immigration book like no other that is a must read for people of all ages! Although this challenging book requires students to spend much of their reading time making inferences; I am going to use part of it with my first grade class. I want my students to focus on the characters’ expressions and gestures and how using this information can help us improve our understanding of a story. Tan’s illustration of the man arriving at the new land and going through the medical checkup is perfect for that lesson. I look forward to using this text in the future. I hope it will help my students recognize the importance of studying the pictures to truly understand a story.
The Arrival is a graphic novel about a man who immigrates to a new land. Readers can follow his experiences, from his last dinner with his wife and daughter, to trying to find his way around in a new place, to getting a new job. In The Arrival, author Shaun Tan’s incredible illustrations help recreate the feelings encountered by new immigrants.
Tan’s illustrations include elements both realistic and fantasy. In creating a graphic novel versus a novel with text, Tan forces the reader into a situation of confusion, trying to decipher a strange text and a strange new environment. The new land is foreign to the character and to the reader, so it feels like we are going through this with him. We try to decipher the map along with this man, we look for something or someone to make sense of everything for us. The lack of text puts the reader into the shoes of the main character.
Another theme that emerges when reading The Arrival is the anonymity that new immigrants can experience. In this book, it would be easy for the main character to blend in with the hundreds or thousands of other people in his situation. Tan even shows how lonely it can be, by occasionally showing us the main character in context of other people…his face in one window of hundreds on the ship, his apartment in one of hundreds in his building. Yet Tan helps us understand that behind every anonymous face is a story. Each of these people left a place they knew, people they loved, to come to a new place. Not only do we know the story of the main character, we also see the story of others along the way.
Shaun Tan creates a masterpiece in The Arrival. His illustrations guide the reader through an experience faced by so many immigrants. Tan guides the reader through a myriad of situations and emotions. His ability to get the reader to feel and think about this subject is remarkable.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a fascinating graphic novel that invites the reader to explore the surreal and futuristic drawings. The realistic images of immigrants tell the journey they took from their native land to the new land. The man who leaves his family tells the story of what an immigrant had to go through to be accepted. The frustration, humiliation and uncertainty show through on his face as he is examined and answers many questions. He meets many other people along the way who help him as well as share their stories with him. He learns to live in this strange new land and is finally able to bring his family to live there with him. His daughter seems to thrive in this new country and as she meets a new girl and helps her to find her way; the whole process begins again as new immigrants arrive. I don't have a lot of experience with wordless picture books and I found myself looking at the same pictures many times; each time discovering something new. The paneled layouts remind me of the slide shows my grandmother used to set-up in her family room. Tans use of visual elements vary throughout the book. The pictures depicting the factory workers, grave yards, and battle grounds are done in black and white which help to create an eerie atmosphere. In chapter one Tan shows the city with the "dragon tails" from two different perspectives; one as if you were high above the city and the other as if you were standing level on the ground. His use of object dominance depicts just how huge the giant "soldiers" are compared to the people they are trying to capture. I think an art teacher for the upper grades would enjoy using this book! The fourth grade teacher I work with just did a mini-unit on immigration. I brought the book in and showed it to the class, I did't tell them anything about the book before hand-I just wanted to get their reaction. A couple guessed right away the book was about immigrantion and that it told the story without words. Some of the boys who like to draw a lot were fascinated with the pictures. I asked them what the pictures reminded them of and they made many connections to Ellis Island and New York City and why people came to America. They also wanted to know why Tan created some of the images the way he did. So we talked about surreal images and what kinds of things might inspire artists and writers. I also read the Artists's Note to them so they could hear what Shaun Tan had to say about creating this awesome graphic novel.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan was an outstanding graphic novel. As someone who has never read a graphic novel before, I really enjoyed the beauty of the images. I spent time examining the faces of the immigrants, trying to pull meaning and infer what this experience must have been like. Words like lonely, confused, afraid, excited and determined come to mind. The expressions on the immigrant’s faces communicate these ideas. The immigrants struggled through so much adversity and yet they were able to make America their new home, build strong lives for themselves and bring their families over to prosper in the opportunities that lay ahead. Without words, Shaun Tan presents these ideas clearly and powerfully.
As a teacher, I realize the value in this book as a teaching tool. Graphic novels lend themselves particularly well to the inferring, questioning, synthesizing and connecting comprehension strategies. I found myself constantly asking questions and using my background knowledge to make meaning as I read this text. I haven’t thought about using a graphic novel in my teaching—I didn’t think that students really “read” them. But, after reading this novel, I realize how powerful graphic novels can be to teach students to use all of the comprehension strategies, think critically, discuss their ideas with others and come up with questions to pursue in a unit of inquiry. Tan has opened up my eyes to the beauty of graphic novels and I definitely plan on using them in my classroom in the future.
The Arrival also made me think about how we have the ability to communicate without words. Tan was able to communicate the struggles and triumphs of immigration through his images. By thinking about his illustrations, the reader lives the immigration experience. We experience firsthand everything from the trip overseas, to inspections at Ellis Island, the struggle to find shelter, food, and work and finally the joy of succeeding in a new land and reuniting with one’s family. It makes me think about how life must have been for immigrants who didn’t speak English and had to communicate non-verbally. I remember seeing the immigrant in the book using drawing to ask questions and get the things he needed to survive. Although words can be powerful, so too is art. Immigrants were able to make it without verbal communication—and Tan’s graphic novel makes that idea so much more apparent.
As a reader, I generally dislike graphic novels, especially those without any dialogue. I prefer my novels to be built of words and for pictures to develop in my mind as I read. Therefore I was surprised that I enjoyed The Arrival by Shaun Tan as much as I did. The story at its simplest level traces the life of a man from his home to a new world, full of wonder, danger, and most of all confusion. Along the way, he meets several other immigrants to this world who all share other desperate tales of death and destruction and their individual journeys to the new world.
I found the book to be an interesting narrative, built by Tan's surreal imagery and artistic skill that evokes emotion at every turn. The pictures allow the story to develop in a fascinating way. For example, a dragon-like creature attacks the city in which the protagonist lives, causing him to leave and search out a new life for his family. Later in the book, in his new world, the dragon reappears in the tail of a cat, scaring the protagonist, until he realizes that this creature in this world is harmless.
The graphic novel genre works well for this subject matter as well. An author would certainly struggle to create the kind of confusion that the protagonist feels as he enters a world where things are familiar, yet very different and confusing. Using the graphic novel form, Tan is able to skillfully sketch the confusion on the protagonist's face as he encounters the people who examine him as he arrives. Later he is able to convey the horror of war through realistic images of pointy headed soldiers and piles of bones. In these, some of the most powerful images in the book, a picture is really worth a thousand words.
There is room within this work for many different levels of interpretation. While our study of the book which included the Ellis Island webquest, clearly points to this being the story of an immigrant arriving in America, someone coming to the novel with a different schema could see something very different within these images. While that may be a drawback in considering the author's purpose and exploring themes, in the case of a surreal graphic novel it plays right into the ambiguity and confusion that permeates this impressive work.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed and appreciated Tan’s book. The Arrival by Shaun Tan. was a very captivating graphic novel that takes the reader on an immigrant’s journey to a new land. From start to finish, Tan was able to seize and lock my attention by the way he portrayed the emotions of the immigrants. The extraordinary themes of love, sacrifice, oppression, poverty, and hope make the reader able to connect to the story on more than more than one level. The overall theme is one that most can relate: the longing to fit in.
One of the many reasons I fell in love with this book was because it grabbed my attention from the beginning. In the opening scene we see “The Man” getting ready to leave his wife and daughter. You see a tender exchange between the man and wife as they touch hands over his trunk of belongings that he will be taking with him on his journey. You see a playful interaction between father and daughter as he gives her an origami bird from under his hat as a little moment-o. From this point on, I found myself fighting for “The Man” and hoping that he would preserve for his family.
The hardships and frustrations are felt throughout The Arrival, as the “The Man” struggles to fit into the new country. How does one portray their skills if they cannot speak the language? As I read through the pictures, I held onto hope that “The Man” would reconnect with his family. After all of the hardships that he went through, he deserved them back in his life.
I would use this book to teach a unit about immigration with my students. I think this graphic novel requires a different skill set then reading a book with words. It requires concentration and attention to detail. This book would be less intimating for my reluctant readers and would help facilitate discussions about the extraordinary themes it lends itself to. I am going to use it with my sixth grade students and see if they are as receptive to Tan’s work. I was pleasantly surprised that I was so drawn into it!
I too, like many of you, was also surprised at how much I truly enjoyed "reading" Shaun Tan's graphic novel. Before I started, I convinced myself that I would not like the book and it was hard to motivate myself to pick it up and read it. However, after gaining some background knowledge (through the cyberlesson), I was more eager to begin the story because I felt like I had more of a purpose for reading. I think this was an important learning experience that I went through. I was truly put into the shoes of one of my students. I now see how reading books that are not of interest to students (for a variety of reasons) can be very challenging and unmotivating. Howevever, I also realized the importance of building backgroud knowledge to create motivation and spark that desire to read. What a natural reading experience!
Through the graphic and meticulous illustrations, Tan creates a story of determination, of survival in hopelss times, of unexpected kindness, and of much love. Although there are many big topics that Tan addresses in this story, I believe there is one over-arching theme: determination, hope, and love can get you through any obstacle that life throws your way.
This is a universal theme that exists in so many stories and that's why I think this is a great novel to use in my 6th grade classroom. Not only can my students make profound connections to other texts, but they will be able to apply this strong theme to many aspects of their own lifes. How neat would it be to teach a message that exists in so many other books and their lives, but teach it in such a unique way using this wordless text? Not only is this a great book to use to teach theme, but it can be an excellent text to use to support a unit on immigration. This cyberlesson, coupled with The Arrival, will build so much background knowledge in the students that they will be much more engaged throughout the learning process.
As I was reading this book, I constantly found myself asking questions, making connections, inferencing, and predicting. All of these important reading strategies can be taught and/or transferred to this novel. It will allow for a lot of great thinking to be done and, more importantly, will open them up to the beauty of wordless novels.
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel with mesmerizing images. It leaves the reader struck with powerful emotions. Beginning with the hear breaking departure and the family torn apart the reader feels the pain in the man’s heart and wonders if the family will be reunited. As you continue through the journey with the immigrants you feel their fears and sense of isolation. The journey was not an easy one, and you could see the sacrifices that were made. The most amazing part of this book is that each time you read it, you discover a new piece that you had over looked before. Discussing the book with others also brings forth new ideas brought by each reader’s unique experiences. I enjoyed the mysterious way Tan added mythical creatures and pieces to the book. It left me wondering, inferencing and acting like a true metacognitive reader. The book has no words, yet a powerful theme of the compassion in humanity came through to me. I saw how the man longed for a friend. Soon in unfamiliar world, acts of kindness and friendship began to emerge. A boy offers the man food, then he is welcomed into another families home to share a meal. A woman helps the man find his way and similar stories of struggle are shared with human perseverance and triumph in the end. The man finds this unknown place not so strange and soon it becomes a place of comfort and home. He too ends his story and journey with triumph as he reunites with his family and welcomes them to this new home.
The book left me wondering many times while reading, and once I finished the book I found myself thinking of my own mother and father and their arrival. My mother as a child probably had an easier journey, yet my father coming alone to America at age 18, with no money and one suitcase had to have felt many of the same emotions that the man did. The arrival continues still today.
In Shaun Tan’s graphic novel The Arrival, Tan takes the reader on a fantastical journey into and unfamiliar world. Tan tells the immigration story of a man who leaves his family behind to venture to a new and better world, through the use of only pictures. Tan begins the story with realistic images of the man departing his family and the reader can immediately feel how hard it is for this man to leave the ones he loves behind. As the man enters into this new world, Tan uses a combination of surreal and real images. In this new world, the reader is able to explore different foods, transportation, and ways of living. The man struggles with the hardships of not being able to communicate with anyone and trying to find his way. Along his journey, he encounters other immigrants as well and Tan provides the reader with a snapshot of their journeys and struggles into this new world. Tan concludes the text with a happy family reuniting in this new world. At this point, the man has now experienced and learned new ways of living that he will pass onto his family.
As a reader, I enjoyed this book. This is the first graphic novel that I have read and worked with and I wasn’t quite sure how to attack it at first. I love how Tan uses such variety with the size and amount of pictures he places on each page. I found that it gave a more dramatic effect to some images and really contributed to the tone and pace of the story when it was just one large image compared to twelve smaller ones. The variety of shading techniques that Tan uses adds a lot to this text as well. I noticed that he tries to help the reader understand the flashbacks but using a shaded border on those pages instead of white.
Through the use of other immigrants flashbacks Tan is able to express to the reader the similarities and differences amongst these struggling immigrants. He also is also expressing the theme of helpfulness and how important it truly is at certain times. Each of these other immigrants that the main character encounters is able to help him in some way and make him feel as though he is not alone. It is great at the end, that the man and his family are able to do the same for others.
Tan discusses how he created this book without a particularly age group set in mind. I think this text lends itself to a wide variety of ages in the classroom. Without text, the teacher can guide his/her students to do a lot of questioning and inferring. Also, using this text in an immigration unit would be perfect. Students could read it at the start of the unit and then again towards the end and use their new knowledge to gain a stronger understanding than before. Students can also use this story to work on their characterization skills and write some of their own dialogue.
Overall, this is a very creative and interesting book to read! Tan does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged and constantly trying to learn more and understand who this man is. The images are amazing and the novel lends itself to a wide variety of learners.
13 comments:
In his book The Arrival, Shaun Tan is able to convey to the reader a sense of what anyone must go through when immigrating to a new country. Through his realistic as well as surreal images, Tan helps the reader to discover what it must feel like to be entering into an unfamiliar place where everything seems strange and different. Each image leaves the reader trying to figure something out just as the main character in the text is constantly trying to make sense of his new location.
The picture book format makes perfect use of the genre. Because there are no words, the reader is constantly left with questions and thoughts in their minds. They are constantly trying to make sense of what is happening in the text. It is in this way that the text may be harder for older readers because they have background knowledge on Ellis island and the thousands of people who immigrated to the United States in escape of the horrid things going on in their own countries. A reader with abundant amounts of information on this topic is constantly trying to figure out what the connections are to what really happened. A younger reader with only a little background information may better get the full experience Tan has in mind. They read the text not trying to figure out what is happening in relation to another event, but rather just experiencing the sense of not knowing everything, of constantly making sense of a strange world.
Tan is able, without any words, to evoke a sense of cautious curiosity. The reader learns how challenging everything becomes when you are unable to understand words, pictures, or even the scenery. The reader learns along with the main character, how to find a place to sleep, how to prepare the mysterious food, how to find a good job, and most importantly how to communicate in this strange new world. The man makes connections with people and they help him to understand this strange place. They also share their story, each one even more surreal than the last. The reader is able to understand how people must have felt when stories of living conditions were shared. Each story is so different, yet gives a great reason for why they had to flee to a new country. The reader can understand why so many made the trip, but also how each person must have felt when hearing of a new tribulation.
As the text evolves, the man also evolves, becoming more comfortable in this new place. The reader too is going through this same experience. The surreal images are now not so surreal to the reader. The strange animals and food almost seem normal, as they must be feeling to the man.
In the last section of the text, the man is able to bring his family to this strange new world. Because of his hard work, he is able to make a life in this new place. Tan is able to depict a sense of relief and happiness to the reader that although things were challenging, it was all for a good cause. He is also able to show how comfortable the mother and child were in this new country because of all the hard work the man put in prior to their arrival.
This book makes excellent use of the graphic novel genre. It can be read by a variety of readers including those of differing background knowledge on the subject. Tan is able to help the reader to experience what it must have felt like to enter into a new country where everything seems so surreal and strange. He helps the reader to transform their thinking about this new place as the main character does the same. Tan is able to emanate a sense of accomplishment at the end of the text through the progression of feelings, surreal images, and memories within.
I believe The Arrival is a valuable teaching tool for almost any teacher to use in his/her classroom. Both its content and story characteristics lend themselves to a variety of lessons in which this story could be incorporated.
I spend a good amount of time teaching my students about inferences and the importance of inferring when one is reading. Considering this is an authentic picture book, all meaning from the book must be inferred. Through examining the faces, the details, and even the backgrounds of the pictures, the reader must use those visual cues to understand what the man is experiencing and how he feels about it. I definitely plan to use this text in the near future to review inferences and show my students another example of how inferring is important in comprehending a text.
We also spend some time discussing immigration in my classroom. This book is a fantastic resource for teaching immigration, as it is the story of one immigrant’s experiences coming to a new world and struggling to succeed in his new life. I feel this is a great initiation to an immigration unit, as it lends itself to great discussions about what the man is experiencing from the foreign animals he encounters to the strange foods he must eat. In addition, it also lends itself to discussions about the reasons one might choose to immigrate, why entire families didn’t always make the trip together, and how an immigrant feels in his/her new life.
I also feel this book would be wonderful for art teachers to use in teaching students about how to evoke emotion in art. The artwork is gorgeous, and Shaun Tan definitely produces images that emit the actual emotions and feelings associated with one man’s immigration experience. Also, the combination of surreal and realistic images in the book would be a good lesson, as this story uses both types of pictures to depict a very serious and realistic situation.
The Arrival is a terrific book for students of all ages, and I especially like the number of critical thinking discussions it lends itself to. It is a great teaching resource for many concepts, and I will definitely be using it in my classroom in the future.
After reading Allison’s post on The Arrival, I too, agree that this is a very emotional book that continues to leave the reader wondering, asking questions, and wanting to know more. I also love Krysta’s connections to the classroom and agree that this is a powerful book to use when teaching students about inferences.
My feelings: I felt this was an engaging and vivid book that conveys a very touching, moving story of a man’s journey. The realistic and surreal images allow the reader to go through a series of emotions: wonder, happy, sad, and hopeful, much like the feelings the character goes through as his leaves his familiar, yet difficult home to find a better place to live. The surreal images allow the reader be placed in the character’s shoes, as I too felt overwhelmed, curious and sometimes afraid of what might come. Shaun Tan truly represents a strange place and uses pictures to open our many senses and make the story come to life.
This is truly one of my first graphic novels of its kind that I have encountered. I have read a plethora of wordless picture books, however, none have been as graphic or touching as Shaun Tan’s perception of a immigrant man’s journey to a new world. Through the cyberlesson, I had a eye-opening experience, as the before, during, and after activities activated my schema and had me critically and metacognitively think about the character and his hardships he overcame as he found freedom in his new, strange world. Reading the pictures left me wanting to know more, as like many, I too, have relatives who made that long, strange journey to Ellis Island. The online resources were extremely valuable, as I was able to learn more about this historical event, find facts, and listen to Tan’s thoughtful discussion on how and why he wrote this book. The online resources quenched my curiously and had me gain deeper appreciation for this graphic novel.
Reading and interpreting the vivid images in The Arrival kept my attention and had me think of my life. Did my ancestor’s experience this hardship as they came to the U.S.? What have I gone through that is remotely similar to this man? Tan’s format is truly effective, as the book takes the reader on an adventure and allows the reader to SEE what it might have been like/felt like to be in the character’s shoes.
As previously stated, The Arrival is one of the first books of its kind that I have ever read. Even though I have read a variety of wordless picture books, I have never experienced the emotion and connection to them as I have with The Arrival. For instance, I have read Sector 7 and Tuesday by David Weisner, Alexandra Day’s Carl books, and wordless picture books by Mercer Meyer, however, they did not have the same effect as this book.
I think learning through wordless picture books can be a very powerful tool, as students are able to build their background knowledge, deepen their understanding and make connections. As seen with the cyberlesson, there are many opportunities for students to write, thus allowing output learning to occur and deepening students’ understand of the text and historical events. This book (and related lessons) can be an effective and powerful unit for many students. Based on the content, I do not think I would use this book in its entirety with my first-grade students. Instead, I might use a picture or two to have students infer how the character’s feels. I feel this is an appropriate book for ages 10 and up and could be adapted within my grade levels as well as a great addition to a school’s integrated language arts curriculum.
Lastly, the websites connected to the cyberlesson provided a wealth of information and allowed me to think more critically about Tan’s purpose for telling this powerful story of a migrant man and his difficult journey to find freedom. Again, this would be a powerful unit on immigration for upper elementary students and beyond.
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan, is a wordless, picture book filled with realistic and surreal images that capture the true feeling of what it was like to be an immigrant in a new land. The hand drawn pictures allow the reader to connect with the main characters’ emotions and expressions as he makes his heroic journey. Tan created almost a “comic book” feel where each picture changes slightly to form the dramatic detail he was hoping for. As you are reading, you are immediately taken back by the incredible detail in the illustrations that allow you to visualize the text that would accompany the dramatic pictures. At first glance, the surreal images of buildings and animals seem to be out of place with the theme of the story. Once realizing the importance of these images and actually placing yourself into the characters shoes, you are able to see how Tan creates an immigration book unlike any other. He develops this fictitious, magical place with many unanswered hard to solve questions, which proved true to the immigrants initial reactions in a new country. Like the main character in the story, the immigrants were faced with the problems of finding shelter, work and friends. Tan proves how scary, difficult and unfamiliar it can be in an unknown place. Tan has designed an immigration book like no other that is a must read for people of all ages!
Although this challenging book requires students to spend much of their reading time making inferences; I am going to use part of it with my first grade class. I want my students to focus on the characters’ expressions and gestures and how using this information can help us improve our understanding of a story. Tan’s illustration of the man arriving at the new land and going through the medical checkup is perfect for that lesson. I look forward to using this text in the future. I hope it will help my students recognize the importance of studying the pictures to truly understand a story.
The Arrival is a graphic novel about a man who immigrates to a new land. Readers can follow his experiences, from his last dinner with his wife and daughter, to trying to find his way around in a new place, to getting a new job. In The Arrival, author Shaun Tan’s incredible illustrations help recreate the feelings encountered by new immigrants.
Tan’s illustrations include elements both realistic and fantasy. In creating a graphic novel versus a novel with text, Tan forces the reader into a situation of confusion, trying to decipher a strange text and a strange new environment. The new land is foreign to the character and to the reader, so it feels like we are going through this with him. We try to decipher the map along with this man, we look for something or someone to make sense of everything for us. The lack of text puts the reader into the shoes of the main character.
Another theme that emerges when reading The Arrival is the anonymity that new immigrants can experience. In this book, it would be easy for the main character to blend in with the hundreds or thousands of other people in his situation. Tan even shows how lonely it can be, by occasionally showing us the main character in context of other people…his face in one window of hundreds on the ship, his apartment in one of hundreds in his building. Yet Tan helps us understand that behind every anonymous face is a story. Each of these people left a place they knew, people they loved, to come to a new place. Not only do we know the story of the main character, we also see the story of others along the way.
Shaun Tan creates a masterpiece in The Arrival. His illustrations guide the reader through an experience faced by so many immigrants. Tan guides the reader through a myriad of situations and emotions. His ability to get the reader to feel and think about this subject is remarkable.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a fascinating graphic novel that invites the reader to explore the surreal and futuristic drawings. The realistic images of immigrants tell the journey they took from their native land to the new land. The man who leaves his family tells the story of what an immigrant had to go through to be accepted. The frustration, humiliation and uncertainty show through on his face as he is examined and answers many questions. He meets many other people along the way who help him as well as share their stories with him. He learns to live in this strange new land and is finally able to bring his family to live there with him. His daughter seems to thrive in this new country and as she meets a new girl and helps her to find her way; the whole process begins again as new immigrants arrive.
I don't have a lot of experience with wordless picture books and I found myself looking at the same pictures many times; each time discovering something new. The paneled layouts remind me of the slide shows my grandmother used to set-up in her family room.
Tans use of visual elements vary throughout the book. The pictures depicting the factory workers, grave yards, and battle grounds are done in black and white which help to create an eerie atmosphere. In chapter one Tan shows the city with the "dragon tails" from two different perspectives; one as if you were high above the city and the other as if you were standing level on the ground. His use of object dominance depicts just how huge the giant "soldiers" are compared to the people they are trying to capture. I think an art teacher for the upper grades would enjoy using this book!
The fourth grade teacher I work with just did a mini-unit on immigration. I brought the book in and showed it to the class, I did't tell them anything about the book before hand-I just wanted to get their reaction. A couple guessed right away the book was about immigrantion and that it told the story without words. Some of the boys who like to draw a lot were fascinated with the pictures. I asked them what the pictures reminded them of and they made many connections to Ellis Island and New York City and why people came to America. They also wanted to know why Tan created some of the images the way he did. So we talked about surreal images and what kinds of things might inspire artists and writers. I also read the Artists's Note to them so they could hear what Shaun Tan had to say about creating this awesome graphic novel.
The Arrival by Shaun Tan was an outstanding graphic novel. As someone who has never read a graphic novel before, I really enjoyed the beauty of the images. I spent time examining the faces of the immigrants, trying to pull meaning and infer what this experience must have been like. Words like lonely, confused, afraid, excited and determined come to mind. The expressions on the immigrant’s faces communicate these ideas. The immigrants struggled through so much adversity and yet they were able to make America their new home, build strong lives for themselves and bring their families over to prosper in the opportunities that lay ahead. Without words, Shaun Tan presents these ideas clearly and powerfully.
As a teacher, I realize the value in this book as a teaching tool. Graphic novels lend themselves particularly well to the inferring, questioning, synthesizing and connecting comprehension strategies. I found myself constantly asking questions and using my background knowledge to make meaning as I read this text. I haven’t thought about using a graphic novel in my teaching—I didn’t think that students really “read” them. But, after reading this novel, I realize how powerful graphic novels can be to teach students to use all of the comprehension strategies, think critically, discuss their ideas with others and come up with questions to pursue in a unit of inquiry. Tan has opened up my eyes to the beauty of graphic novels and I definitely plan on using them in my classroom in the future.
The Arrival also made me think about how we have the ability to communicate without words. Tan was able to communicate the struggles and triumphs of immigration through his images. By thinking about his illustrations, the reader lives the immigration experience. We experience firsthand everything from the trip overseas, to inspections at Ellis Island, the struggle to find shelter, food, and work and finally the joy of succeeding in a new land and reuniting with one’s family. It makes me think about how life must have been for immigrants who didn’t speak English and had to communicate non-verbally. I remember seeing the immigrant in the book using drawing to ask questions and get the things he needed to survive. Although words can be powerful, so too is art. Immigrants were able to make it without verbal communication—and Tan’s graphic novel makes that idea so much more apparent.
As a reader, I generally dislike graphic novels, especially those without any dialogue. I prefer my novels to be built of words and for pictures to develop in my mind as I read. Therefore I was surprised that I enjoyed The Arrival by Shaun Tan as much as I did. The story at its simplest level traces the life of a man from his home to a new world, full of wonder, danger, and most of all confusion. Along the way, he meets several other immigrants to this world who all share other desperate tales of death and destruction and their individual journeys to the new world.
I found the book to be an interesting narrative, built by Tan's surreal imagery and artistic skill that evokes emotion at every turn. The pictures allow the story to develop in a fascinating way. For example, a dragon-like creature attacks the city in which the protagonist lives, causing him to leave and search out a new life for his family. Later in the book, in his new world, the dragon reappears in the tail of a cat, scaring the protagonist, until he realizes that this creature in this world is harmless.
The graphic novel genre works well for this subject matter as well. An author would certainly struggle to create the kind of confusion that the protagonist feels as he enters a world where things are familiar, yet very different and confusing. Using the graphic novel form, Tan is able to skillfully sketch the confusion on the protagonist's face as he encounters the people who examine him as he arrives. Later he is able to convey the horror of war through realistic images of pointy headed soldiers and piles of bones. In these, some of the most powerful images in the book, a picture is really worth a thousand words.
There is room within this work for many different levels of interpretation. While our study of the book which included the Ellis Island webquest, clearly points to this being the story of an immigrant arriving in America, someone coming to the novel with a different schema could see something very different within these images. While that may be a drawback in considering the author's purpose and exploring themes, in the case of a surreal graphic novel it plays right into the ambiguity and confusion that permeates this impressive work.
I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed and appreciated Tan’s book. The Arrival by Shaun Tan. was a very captivating graphic novel that takes the reader on an immigrant’s journey to a new land. From start to finish, Tan was able to seize and lock my attention by the way he portrayed the emotions of the immigrants. The extraordinary themes of love, sacrifice, oppression, poverty, and hope make the reader able to connect to the story on more than more than one level. The overall theme is one that most can relate: the longing to fit in.
One of the many reasons I fell in love with this book was because it grabbed my attention from the beginning. In the opening scene we see “The Man” getting ready to leave his wife and daughter. You see a tender exchange between the man and wife as they touch hands over his trunk of belongings that he will be taking with him on his journey. You see a playful interaction between father and daughter as he gives her an origami bird from under his hat as a little moment-o. From this point on, I found myself fighting for “The Man” and hoping that he would preserve for his family.
The hardships and frustrations are felt throughout The Arrival, as the “The Man” struggles to fit into the new country. How does one portray their skills if they cannot speak the language? As I read through the pictures, I held onto hope that “The Man” would reconnect with his family. After all of the hardships that he went through, he deserved them back in his life.
I would use this book to teach a unit about immigration with my students. I think this graphic novel requires a different skill set then reading a book with words. It requires concentration and attention to detail. This book would be less intimating for my reluctant readers and would help facilitate discussions about the extraordinary themes it lends itself to. I am going to use it with my sixth grade students and see if they are as receptive to Tan’s work. I was pleasantly surprised that I was so drawn into it!
I too, like many of you, was also surprised at how much I truly enjoyed "reading" Shaun Tan's graphic novel. Before I started, I convinced myself that I would not like the book and it was hard to motivate myself to pick it up and read it. However, after gaining some background knowledge (through the cyberlesson), I was more eager to begin the story because I felt like I had more of a purpose for reading. I think this was an important learning experience that I went through. I was truly put into the shoes of one of my students. I now see how reading books that are not of interest to students (for a variety of reasons) can be very challenging and unmotivating. Howevever, I also realized the importance of building backgroud knowledge to create motivation and spark that desire to read. What a natural reading experience!
Through the graphic and meticulous illustrations, Tan creates a story of determination, of survival in hopelss times, of unexpected kindness, and of much love. Although there are many big topics that Tan addresses in this story, I believe there is one over-arching theme: determination, hope, and love can get you through any obstacle that life throws your way.
This is a universal theme that exists in so many stories and that's why I think this is a great novel to use in my 6th grade classroom. Not only can my students make profound connections to other texts, but they will be able to apply this strong theme to many aspects of their own lifes. How neat would it be to teach a message that exists in so many other books and their lives, but teach it in such a unique way using this wordless text? Not only is this a great book to use to teach theme, but it can be an excellent text to use to support a unit on immigration. This cyberlesson, coupled with The Arrival, will build so much background knowledge in the students that they will be much more engaged throughout the learning process.
As I was reading this book, I constantly found myself asking questions, making connections, inferencing, and predicting. All of these important reading strategies can be taught and/or transferred to this novel. It will allow for a lot of great thinking to be done and, more importantly, will open them up to the beauty of wordless novels.
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel with mesmerizing images. It leaves the reader struck with powerful emotions. Beginning with the hear breaking departure and the family torn apart the reader feels the pain in the man’s heart and wonders if the family will be reunited. As you continue through the journey with the immigrants you feel their fears and sense of isolation. The journey was not an easy one, and you could see the sacrifices that were made. The most amazing part of this book is that each time you read it, you discover a new piece that you had over looked before. Discussing the book with others also brings forth new ideas brought by each reader’s unique experiences. I enjoyed the mysterious way Tan added mythical creatures and pieces to the book. It left me wondering, inferencing and acting like a true metacognitive reader.
The book has no words, yet a powerful theme of the compassion in humanity came through to me. I saw how the man longed for a friend. Soon in unfamiliar world, acts of kindness and friendship began to emerge. A boy offers the man food, then he is welcomed into another families home to share a meal. A woman helps the man find his way and similar stories of struggle are shared with human perseverance and triumph in the end. The man finds this unknown place not so strange and soon it becomes a place of comfort and home. He too ends his story and journey with triumph as he reunites with his family and welcomes them to this new home.
The book left me wondering many times while reading, and once I finished the book I found myself thinking of my own mother and father and their arrival. My mother as a child probably had an easier journey, yet my father coming alone to America at age 18, with no money and one suitcase had to have felt many of the same emotions that the man did. The arrival continues still today.
In Shaun Tan’s graphic novel The Arrival, Tan takes the reader on a fantastical journey into and unfamiliar world. Tan tells the immigration story of a man who leaves his family behind to venture to a new and better world, through the use of only pictures. Tan begins the story with realistic images of the man departing his family and the reader can immediately feel how hard it is for this man to leave the ones he loves behind. As the man enters into this new world, Tan uses a combination of surreal and real images. In this new world, the reader is able to explore different foods, transportation, and ways of living. The man struggles with the hardships of not being able to communicate with anyone and trying to find his way. Along his journey, he encounters other immigrants as well and Tan provides the reader with a snapshot of their journeys and struggles into this new world. Tan concludes the text with a happy family reuniting in this new world. At this point, the man has now experienced and learned new ways of living that he will pass onto his family.
As a reader, I enjoyed this book. This is the first graphic novel that I have read and worked with and I wasn’t quite sure how to attack it at first. I love how Tan uses such variety with the size and amount of pictures he places on each page. I found that it gave a more dramatic effect to some images and really contributed to the tone and pace of the story when it was just one large image compared to twelve smaller ones. The variety of shading techniques that Tan uses adds a lot to this text as well. I noticed that he tries to help the reader understand the flashbacks but using a shaded border on those pages instead of white.
Through the use of other immigrants flashbacks Tan is able to express to the reader the similarities and differences amongst these struggling immigrants. He also is also expressing the theme of helpfulness and how important it truly is at certain times. Each of these other immigrants that the main character encounters is able to help him in some way and make him feel as though he is not alone. It is great at the end, that the man and his family are able to do the same for others.
Tan discusses how he created this book without a particularly age group set in mind. I think this text lends itself to a wide variety of ages in the classroom. Without text, the teacher can guide his/her students to do a lot of questioning and inferring. Also, using this text in an immigration unit would be perfect. Students could read it at the start of the unit and then again towards the end and use their new knowledge to gain a stronger understanding than before. Students can also use this story to work on their characterization skills and write some of their own dialogue.
Overall, this is a very creative and interesting book to read! Tan does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged and constantly trying to learn more and understand who this man is. The images are amazing and the novel lends itself to a wide variety of learners.
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