ERIC written and illustrated by the talented Shaun Tan, first included in his Tales from Outer Suburbia, is available in a new stand-alone edition. The story revolves around bridging the gaps between cultures as a foreign exchange student comes to live with a family eager to provide a comfortable home.
Although the family had painted the spare bedroom and provided everything that they thought would give the student a restful place to be, he prefers to sleep and study in the kitchen pantry. Eric, as the student suggests the family call him since they have trouble pronouncing his name, is very small---in fact, he’s not much taller than a coffee cup.
The family swiftly clears out the pantry to make more room for him. They also take him on small trips so he can experience what their neighborhood has to offer. However, with his short stature going to the zoo allows him only to see the elephant’s feet and going on a bus only gives Eric a look at people’s shoes. What it did give Eric, however, was an opportunity to practice his interest in the beauty of small things such as buttons, bottle caps and wrappers found on the ground.
Then one day Eric suddenly says goodbye and floats out the window on a leaf! The family feels confused. “It bothered us for hours, or at least until one of us discovered what was in the pantry.” The double spread illustration of what Eric leaves in the pantry as a gift to the family is awesome and pitch perfect for this story of difference and communication.
ERIC written and illustrated by Shaun Tan is both beautiful and thought provoking. Readers from 7-10 years of age and up will enjoy and grasp this story on many important levels (Scholastic Press, 2020).
Activity Questions for ERIC
Take a look again at the gift Eric left the family in the pantry. Look closely and identify the following items: bottle caps, a button, wrappers, ferns, flowers, dice, a playing card, leaves, a spoon and a jar. How is this gift like a garden? How is this gift not like a garden? The family says it has been in the pantry for years thriving in the darkness. How could this be possible? Look for other things that Eric put in this gift that could have allowed it to continue to thrive.
If you were to give this gift a name what would it be? Play with some ideas. Remember, your name can be serious or imaginative. The name you create can be one word or made up of a series of words.
The host family says that Eric had many questions for them----most of which they could not answer very well. What do you think some of Eric’s questions could have been? For ideas look at the illustrations of Eric studying a postage stamp, a plug, a piece of cake, and an elephant’s foot as well as buckling up in the car before going on a sight-seeing trip with the host family. Where would you have taken Eric? Why?
If you were the exchange student what would you have left your host family as a thank you. Think about it. Then draw a picture of your gift. Use pencils, paints or collage techniques to illustrate what you would leave for them.
