Shaun Tan Books

An intriguing picture book for older readers, The Viewer has a sparse amount of words and plenty of fantastically detailed, curious and thought-provoking illustrations. This is a good choice for a picture book to study with Year 6.

The story follows a boy called Tristan who stumbles across a mysterious box filled with strange objects when he is browsing around for interesting things in a scrap yard. Inside the box, Tristan finds a viewing device with lenses and discs, filled with dramatic and sometimes disturbing images past and present – from prehistoric beasts to modern-era war and pollution.

Imagery or circles and spirals reflect the repeated cycles of progress and destruction through history, where the imagery of eyes might cause readers to wonder about the ‘lenses’ through which we come to understand human history. The ambiguous ending invites open-ended discussion. The intricate illustrations by Shaun Tan, the darker themes, the broad historical sweep and the curious repeated motifs make this a perfect picture book for older readers who appreciate a more philosophical book to pore over, and there’s certainly something new to wonder at on every reading.