Town Hall

The Arrival (May/June 2009)

In the May/June issue of Muse, you saw an excerpt from Shaun Tan's wordless graphic novel, The Arrival. What was up with the hot air balloons and the giant snails? Was the immigrant in the story traveling to an alien planet? Is it all a metaphor? Share your thoughts about the excerpt--and about the book, if you've read it.

   This article (or Picticl!) was amazing! An ENTIRE ARTICLE MADE OF PICTURES!!!

submitted by Joey S, age 11, N. Huntingdon PA
(May 9, 2009 - 12:14 pm)

I saw a lot of strange symbols and glyphs, like those written on the newspaper. I think Tan is trying to show how confusing English was to him at first.  I don't understand a lot of things from this artcile, but I really liked. I'm an immigrant too, so looking at these pictures gave a bittersweet feeling. 

submitted by Fablina S., age 11, Seattle, WA
(May 9, 2009 - 10:06 pm)

I saw symbols and stuff too!  It felt like you actually were the immigrant.  There were a lot of strange things, lke the snails, the hot air balloon thingy, the porcupine thing in the news paper stuff (I know that that sound kind of weird, but I have no other way of knowing what else to call it).  It kind of seemed weird, that is probaby how immigrants saw it; strange, unlike home, weird creaters and customs that didn't make sense, weird food and other things. 

submitted by Me-Sage-Koko-4, age 134 moons-younger than CC-11 winters, Beka Cooper, by Tamora Pierce
(May 12, 2009 - 9:55 pm)

If I were the immigrant that would probably be the scariest thing I've ever seen

submitted by Lukas H., age 10, Ottawa ON
(May 13, 2009 - 11:10 am)

TOO scary for me. How many people have cats without fur and have very big eyes?

submitted by Mary Y., age 8, Scotia, NY
(November 30, 2009 - 4:50 pm)

The whole article seemed like the immigrant's thoughts about coming to a new country. It was almost like a dream. I think that the strange animals represent different people and customs. The cat-like creature on page 20 may have been the women's baby, which looked so foreign that an animal took its place the immigrant's mind. I think that the small hot-air balloon thing might have represented the immigrant's feeling of being isolated and all alone, and the light colored bird things might be the character's feeling of hope that he will eventually ajust to his new home. But that's just what I think.

submitted by Rebecca S., age 12, Chelmsford, MA
(May 14, 2009 - 5:22 pm)

Where are you an immigrant from? I didn't get muse until January, so I didn't read this. But my great grandmother was an immigrant from Hungary in 1908, so I know some Hungarian. I can imagine it was scary.

submitted by Scarlett H., age 9, Perrysburg,OH
(June 21, 2010 - 8:33 pm)

that was one of the coolest articles i've read.

submitted by Lukas H., age 10, Ottawa ON
(May 13, 2009 - 11:05 am)

I think that the wierd symbols, animals, and other stuff were so that we understood how it feels to be in a new country. If the newspapers and maps and signs and stuff were in English, and everything was all normal-like, we wouldn't get the strangness of a new place!

submitted by Bella B., age 13, Boston, MA
(May 13, 2009 - 2:51 pm)

I agree! When I first saw the Russian alphabet, I thought it was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. But to the Russians it looks normal- and English looks absurd.

submitted by Sayna, age ?
(May 14, 2009 - 4:24 pm)

I thing that The Arrival was a great way of expressing how immigrants might feel. My dad come all the way from China and told me that when he came, everything seemed like it was from an alien planet. He and his brothers had to pick American names out of the phone book! I really enjoyed The Arrival.     P.S. Kokopelli, you are sooooooo awesome!!!! You rock!! 

submitted by Emma B.W, age 10, Cleveland, OH
(May 14, 2009 - 7:12 pm)

I reminded me of a book I read in 5th grade whose title I have long since forgotten. It was about how people from Earth had to make an odyssey to another planet. It was such an odd story, told from the view of a little girl: eveything was disjointed, surreal, and ... fuzzy, if you will. And the story ended rather abruptly. I don't believe it's even on the reading list at any school anymore. But now that I think of it, the story I read and this excerpt are so incredibly similar. And I loved the origami birdmoths on the last page of this piece; artisitically, I wish I could draw like that.

submitted by Laura P., age 16
(May 15, 2009 - 7:15 pm)

I think the book you read was "The Green Book". I was reminded of it, too.

submitted by Mango M., age 10, Huntersville, NC
(July 9, 2009 - 4:11 pm)

I believe that the name of the book was The Green Book

submitted by 5coolrat, intergalactic spy, age 3.145734, Williamstown, MA
(March 4, 2010 - 7:57 pm)

Hello, I thought it was really cool, and a little confusing

submitted by Livdog W.
(May 16, 2009 - 9:16 am)

i really loved this artical!!!!!!!!!! i think muse should do more stuff like that ( not that i don't like the other stuff... ) 

ps: i can't believe this, but i just found out that.... I DIDN'T GET THE APRIL ISSUE OF MUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm soooooooooo mad    can anyone tell me what happened in it? 

[Simona: Have your parents call customer service (the number is in the table of contents page in the magazine) or email them. --Ed.] 

submitted by simona
(May 16, 2009 - 1:30 pm)

I think it was about octopuses?

submitted by Frank K., age 10, Madison, Wisconsin
(June 8, 2009 - 8:49 am)

OCTOPUSES?!!???!*FAINTS*

submitted by eva.l, age 8.8, charlote,nc
(June 28, 2009 - 4:03 pm)

Octopuses?????????????????????????? FAINT FAINT FAINT!!!!

submitted by Scarlett H., age 9, Perrysburg,OH
(June 29, 2010 - 8:01 pm)

I got the magazine, but I lost it the same day. (I don't know how.) I looked EVERYWHERE for it.

submitted by Scarlett H., age 9, Perrysburg,OH
(June 21, 2010 - 8:36 pm)

I saw unusual animals in the story.

submitted by Maile S., age 9, Livermore, California
(May 18, 2009 - 9:46 pm)

so what we think is that it's pretty confusing.  what is the country-it seems american but all the signs are chinese. also whats with that ballon booth thing???  but the drawings are amazing, fantastico!!!:):)life in america must be confusing if youre not from arond here

submitted by carkat g., age 10 and 8, apex, nc
(May 19, 2009 - 6:21 pm)

everything seemed different to townhall like that weird cat like creature that probaly really was a cat. and the giant eggs must have been watermelon. and the iguana things wher probabaly dogs. but i would have to read the book to actually find out.

submitted by Irene D., age 11, Reno,NV
(June 12, 2009 - 7:15 pm)

hey hey hey my grand parents are imigrants from holland they came to canada not all imigrants go to the usa:)

submitted by Lukas H., age 10, Ottawa ON
(June 28, 2009 - 4:06 pm)

I've read the book, and I really enjoyed it. As for the story, letters, e.t.c… The immigrant who tells the story, comes from a country with a different alphabet, different animals, and by look of the machines I would guess that the country he comes from is poorer and less developed. This "new world" is hard for him to understand- various machines which allow people to speak over distances and "fly", a new language and alphabet, as well as new animals and new customs. He looks at all of it, slightly bewildered, but most of the people are kind and understand his plight.

Last summer, I visited Portugal and Spain. I speak neither portuguese nor spanish, and it was very frustrating for me to not understand what people were saying. And the whole place was… different. The person in the story must make this place his new home…

submitted by Margaret (bookgirl_me), age 14, Vienna, Vienna
(May 27, 2009 - 2:19 pm)

The strangest place I've beeen... Maybe it's Quarez, Mexico.  I didn't really understand what people were saying except for the few spanish words I knew.  There were a bunch of things that I'd never sen before.  I just remember that there was a lot of cars from chuwawa. [Chihuahua? --Ed.] We went to a restaurant, the food was really good!!!  They had vegetarian beans!!!!  It took more time that it would take in america.  One person spoke english, one person spoke spanish.  And dad was trying to order food at a restaurant where noone spoke spanish.  So it took a little bit longer to order the food.  It was weird to be in a different country and not understand many people.  

And, no, people, I do not live in TX.  I just lived there for a month because mom had work in El Paso, Texas.  

submitted by Me-Sage-Koko-4, age 134 moons-younger than CC-11 winters, Beka Cooper, by Tamora Pierce
(June 9, 2009 - 7:14 pm)

That is so cool. I just got back from paris and it was amazing we went to the top of the eiffel tower it was so cool you could see all of paris!!! we also went to the louvre and saw the mona lisa and venus de milo. I have 2 of shaun tan books and I felt just like the man in THE ARRIVAL. It was sad happy and wonderful. It's also full of breath taking views of the alien planet world. I would recomend it for any book lover.

submitted by Lukas H., age 10, Ottawa ON
(June 28, 2009 - 2:27 pm)

I saw this book on the news a couple of years ago. I think it was the first graphic novel to win some award, I don't remember the name. This article is one of my favourites ever out of 2 years of Muses, and it really made me want to read the book.
I am not an immigrant myself, but a lot of my family were/are. My aunt emigrated to Britain from Adelaide(of the 40*C heat and gihugic flying cockroaches) five years ago, and she found that really different.
Muse should do more of this sort of thing.

submitted by Alexa B (aka Insane MLDM), age 13, Somewhere in NSW, Australia
(July 19, 2009 - 7:54 am)

I haven't read the book but I plan to- as soon as I can get my hands on it!! :) I would love to live that exerpt they put in Muse.  I don't know if the author was relating the book to an actual immigrant. Maybe it just represents the confusion and adventure of it all.

submitted by Mango M.
(August 31, 2009 - 3:40 pm)

I found this story very moving. I started crying halfway through it. I must thank Shaun Tan for an amazing and moving story, I am forever grateful.

submitted by Alex C., age 12, Williamstown, MA
(March 4, 2010 - 8:01 pm)

Hi Muse! The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (did I spell his name right?) seems like a really good book! I wonder how it ends?

submitted by David B., age 12, Williams, OR
(March 20, 2010 - 2:50 pm)

It kind of reminds me of how the characters in The Twenty-One Balloons must have felt, leaving their Superb, Fantastical, world and just abruptly ending up somewhere else. If you have read The Twenty-One Balloons, share your thoughts and feelings. And if you haven't, go and get yourself a copy!

submitted by Lili Z., age 10, Colorado Springs, CO
(May 8, 2010 - 9:07 pm)