The Red Tree written and illustrated by Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books such as The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and The Arrival...

, is a picture book

Picture book

A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...

 that presents a fragmented journey through a dark world. The illustrations are surreal

Surreal

Surreal may refer to:*Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art*"Surreal" , a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki*Surreal , an album by Man Raze*Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor...

. The text is sparse and matches the dark illustrations.

The story is based on images inspired by the experience of depression

Depression (mood)

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...

. The main character is a lonely red-headed girl. A red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...

 leaf

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 from a red tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 follows the girl through her day; it states how she feels and depicts her worries. Almost unnoticed in each picture is a small red leaf (symbolising hope

Hope

Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...

). At the end, the little girl stands smiling at a beautiful red-leafed tree growing in her bedroom.

This book is one of many picture books by Tan, also addressing issues such as immigration and cultural differences.

(ISBN 0968876838)