Comparing Shaun Tans And John Marsden's The Rabbits

The best picture books should allow children to experience things through the literature and provide entertainment aswell act as a learning tool. It is not necessary for picture books to be warm and humorous, of much greater importance is the text’s ability to be read again and again, take something away every time you read it and contain substance, depth and layering. This can be seen in The Rabbits by Shaun Tan, My Hiroshima by Junko Morimoto and John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Wagner

The Rabbits by Shaun Tan and John Marsden is a picture book addressing the suffering that the Australian Aborigines experienced at the time of European colonisation. The novel is a metaphorical fable about colonisation told from the view point

‘We are all right, John Brown,’ said Rose. ‘Just the two of us, you and me.’(J. Wagner, John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat, p2) Until the midnight cat starts appearing. John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat is a text dealing mainly with the issue of death. In this text, the midnight cat can be considered a metaphor for death. The confronting theme of death is certainly not warm or humorous; however, the reality of death is inevitable for everyone. The theme of death is educational however the book deals with this theme indirectly. This book can be read on a more superficial level in which the themes revolve around dealing with loss of place, jealousy, sacrifice and the life cycle. Substance, layering and depth are dominant aspects of this book which can be understood differently depending on the age of the reader. A child may not grasp the idea that the cat is supposed to symbolise death. A child might think that the book is just about how owners treat their pets. However, an older reader would be able to understand some of the darker, less humorous themes of the book. Due to the fact that this text has many interpretations on different levels this text can be read numerous times and something new can be taken each time but it cannot be said to be humorous or warm. John Brown, rose and the Midnight Cat has been described as ‘whimsically, melancholic’ and ‘ a flag character for a number of books which approach the question of death and grief’ (J.Hicks, Catching the reading bug,