I heard a few comments expressed over the weekend at the 2007 National Australian Science Fiction Convention about Shaun Tan's latest book, The Arrival - none of it derogatory. Which is hardly surprising as Shaun is well-known and well-liked within the sf community. The main thrust of the points made was that it was good to see the general literary populace appreciating books that many might normally baulk at picking up.
Similarly, Shirley Dent in "The Guardian" over the weekend is very impressed with the work, stating that "A wordless novel about an impoverished migrant's harrowing life might not seem to offer the smalls much that you want them to learn. But its lessons are rich indeed...The Arrival is a beautiful book and many of the images stand alone in their skill and exquisiteness. But it is so much more than a collection of pretty pictures. If your idea of a children's picture book is Meg and Mog (marvellous in its own way, of course) and you think a graphic novel is nothing more than a comic with ideas above its station, then prepare to think again."
