These themes are best suited to more mature audiences, as the author states himself when talking about the book. It is not something I would want to read to my child as it might paint a sad (but possibly true) picture of the working world, and might highlight that suicide is the only way to escape. That being said, I personally found the themes of this book to be a little too dark for what I would consider a ‘picture book’. I found the book to be very thought provoking and a good representation of working in the corporate world. While the picture book shows Cicada shedding his outer shell and flying off in the end, it still leaves behind a sad feeling. After working for the company for 17 years, Cicada ‘retires’ by going up to the top of the building and standing on the edge as if he is going to jump off. Each page is accompanied by Shaun’s artwork – which is dark and depicts the sad life of Cicada at work. Throughout the story the reader learns that Cicada is bullied, unpaid and underappreciated all while being a hardworking asset to the company. This 32-page book tells the story of an overworked Cicada in an office building. It was awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s 2019 picture book of the year, an award which (thankfully) advises it could be for mature audiences. Where do I even begin to describe this book? Cicada is a picture book by Australian author and illustrator, Shaun Tan.
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