Kydd's Drawings: Fantastic Shaun Tan talk on ABC Big Ideas

Australian illustrator, author and Oscar award winning animator Shaun Tan is one of my personal favourites. His picture books are fantastically designed, wonderfully composed, beautifully coloured...simply magical. They offer readers of all ages a glimpse into strangely familiar worlds full of insight and humour.

Tan's choice of subject matter is not the normal affair for children's literature; 'The Rabbits' (written by John Marsden) is an allegory of colonisation, 'The Arrival' is a silent graphic novel telling an immigrant story and 'The Red Tree' is an ambiguous story about feelings of isolation. Despite the unorthodox subjects Tan weaves highly skilled painting, drawing, collage and a plethora of other techniques into lavished spreads drawing together the familiar and surreal.

All in all I am pretty sure the sunshine is intrinsically linked with his posterior! But dont take my word for it, below are a couple of my favourite images to give you a flavour and a fantastic hour long talk Tan did last June for ABC's Big Ideas about his work and career. (All images copyright Shaun Tan)