'Shaun Tan did not slip into the world of children’s literature unnoticed. Success was foreshadowed in 1992 when he won the International Illustrators of the Future Contest, the first Australian to achieve this award. Shaun has been illustrating young adult fiction and picture books since 1996 , initially making his mark by interpreting the work of well-known authors in the After Dark series of short fiction. His first picture book, The Viewer, a collaboration with Gary Crew, won him the Crichton Award in 1998 ─ the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s honour reserved for new illustrators.' (Introduction)