Eric by Shaun Tan

ISBN-13: 9781848775879
Publisher: Templar Publishing
Published: May 2010
Source: Personal Library



I have heard a lot of great things about Shaun Tan's work, but just haven't got around to reading them yet. It was only last week when I was browsing at a bookstore that I stumbled upon this little gem. Without saying, I grabbed a copy off the shelves and I'm happy to say I have now owned one Shaun Tan book (and of course am looking forward for more to come).

Eric is a cute little story about a family hosting a foreign exchange student by the name of - yes, Eric. (Below illustration is how he looked like. Oh don't you find him adorable?)

With black and white illustrations, they capture the essence of Eric's personality and his 'cultures' during his stay with the family. Always curious and keen to learn, Eric slowly adapts to the environment around him.

What I loved most about this book is besides the wonderful illustrations, Shaun Tan has creatively weaved a story based on our everyday lives, through the eyes of little Eric. It also tells a story about the family accepting Eric despite their differences. Eric's stay with the family might seem short, but his experience has allowed me to look at things from a different angle. As for the ending, it brought a smile to my face and touched my heart. How I wish this story would be a little longer!

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I feel so loved because I received not one but two awards this week! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

The Versatile Blogger Award comes from Karen at Finding My Muse and though I'm new to Karen's blog, I'm already liking her blog and have added the link onto my Google Reader.

For this award, I must share seven things about myself and then pass it on to 15 blogs I read. I have no problems with coming up with the seven things, but passing it on to 15 blogs is hard because I have so many in mind!

Anyway, here's a list of seven things about me:

1. I love green tea (genmai tea too). I can have three teabags per day!
2. My best dish used to be prawns fried with oyster sauce, but since I've became a vegetarian, my best dishes now are soba and yasai tempura (because they are so easy to prepare, haha).
3. I bought many Sweet Dreams books through eBay last year (young adult romances printed during the 80s) because I just felt nostalgic for those good old days I read them.
4. I know many of my friends have celebrities as their idols. As for me, it's Lu "Louis" Chen.
5. The farthest country I've been is New Zealand; that's where I went for my honeymoon.
6. I'd love to be a librarian, but that's only my wishful thinking!
7. I love tulips!