And now, for something a bit different, in celebration of Children's Book Week, we thought we'd review Shaun Tan's critically acclaimed book Cicada, which despite it's obvious appeal to children has some distinctly adult themes and will delight readers of all ages.
Cicada paints a poignant picture of the life cycle of office drudgery, underpinned by key themes of bullying, exploitation and transformation. Another key theme is that of belonging which is recurrent in Tan's work
Cicada works tirelessly in an office for 17 years for humans and is grossly undervalued, underpaid, and just generally treated very poorly by his human bosses.
Shaun Tan is an award-winning author of such books as The Rabbits, The Red Tree, and the critically acclaimed The Arrival. Tan's newest work is an indictment on narcissism inherent in so much of corporate culture, forcing us to re-look at the way we view ordinary life and redress the inherent imbalances that exist in what has become mainstream.
Overall, Cicada is a delight from start to finish. An emotional journey with a wonderfully uplifting ending. Read it to both the child in your life, and the child in yourself.