Rules of Summer

Academy Award and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winner Shaun Tan combines humour and surreal fantasy to picture a summer in the lives of two boys. The boys hide from a giant red rabbit and outwit a crowd of scary eagles, but when they their games become ever darker and sinister they learn that breaking the rules can be dangerous. 'Visually fascinating.' - The New York Times 'Thrilling, disturbing and hard to shake...one startling image after another.' - Wall Street Journal Other titles by Shaun Tan include: The Red Tree, The Lost Thing, Tales from Outer Suburbia and the acclaimed wordless novel The Arrival. Read more about Shaun Tan at /

Winner of Academy Awards 2011 (UK)
Winner of Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2011 (UK)
Commended for Kate Greenaway Medal 2015 (UK)

“The multi-layered illustrations are glorious... this is a strange, thought-provoking and enlightening book.”

Irish Independent Pure magic... told with minimal text and the beautiful surreal imagery of Tan's paintings. I would be quite happy to give this book ten stars out of five if that were allowed. Simply unmissable for readers who seek out unique and thought provoking books. When the children outgrow this, I will be keeping it for myself. * Bookbag A mesmerising addition to Shaun Tan's eclectic array of thoughtful and surreal picture books... breathtaking. WRD Magazine Shaun Tan has earned the reputation as the creator of picture books that defy easy interpretation... enigmatic verbal and visual clues to construct narratives... lovingly detailed painterly illustration... starkly realistic and elusively surreal. Irish Times Shaun Tan continues to push out the boundaries of the picturebook medium... whichever way you look at it, this is an extraordinary picturebook, an aesthetic abject, with much to enjoy, respond to, think and talk about. School Librarian Visually fascinating. The New York Times Tan's mesmerizing, gorgeous art is as beautiful and entrancing as ever. Booklist Superb artwork that elicits both a cerebral and emotional response and that, when coupled with the text, invites readers to plumb the mysterious depths of the human experience. The Horn Book Thrilling... one startling image after another. Wall Street Journal Evocative, enthralling and with absolutely astounding artwork so good readers will wish that ike summer, it would last forever. Kirkus Sumptuous and sincere... this title is a winner. School Library Journal Brilliant... as always, the swirl of emotion that Tan's artwork kicks up lingers long after the book is closed. Publishers Weekly Magnificent. Big, confident and blazing with colour. Sydney Morning Herald Beguiling, magical, vivid, sumptuous. Tan's open-ended tales invariably suggest possibilities beyond the frame, creating an imaginative space for readers to inhabit the stories. The Australian Lavish, brilliant paintings...As always, the swirl of emotion that Tan's artwork kicks up lingers long after the book is closed. Publisher's Weekly Magnificent...big, confident and blazing with colour The Sydney Morning Herald Thrilling, disturbing and hard to shake...one startling image after another Wall Street Journal

Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class. He graduated from the University of WA in 1995 with joint honours in Fine Arts and English Literature, and currently works full time as a freelance artist and author in Melbourne. Shaun began drawing and painting images for science fiction and horror stories in small-press magazines as a teenager, and has since become best known for illustrated books that deal with social, political and historical subjects through surreal, dream-like imagery. Shaun has also worked as a theatre designer, and worked as a concept artist for the films Horton Hears a Who and Pixar's WALL-E. He is currently directing a short film with Passion Pictures Australia.

Shaun Tan's books have won world acclaim, the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, as well as an Academy Award for the animated short film adaptation of his book THE LOST THING. Tan s new book, RULES OF SUMMER, is a deceptively simple story about two boys, one older and one younger, and the kind of rules that might govern any relationship between close friends or siblings. Rules that are often so strange or arbitrary, they seem impossible to understand from the outside. Yet through each exquisite illustration of this nearly wordless narrative, we can enjoy wandering around an emotional landscape that is oddly familiar to us all. Shaun Tan draws upon his own personal experiences with a surreal snapshot of fishing adventures with his older brother, leaving a sock on the clothes line, and buildings inspired by Brunswick and greater Melbourne. As you venture deep into the story, these poetic images become darker, more mysterious and unsettling, drawing towards a redemptive ending that affirms the depth of true friendship, a bond that is equally wonderful and inexplicable. Moments of humour, surreal fantasy, and the sometimes devastating ways we interact with the people we love the most, are presented in Shaun Tan s typical thought-provoking style. View more at /

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