The following items were made by the members of Edinger House from ideas they got from The Arrival by Shaun Tan. They read this wordless book because it is about immigration and they are studying it in school. The students were inspired to do this because they live in New York City and many of the images in the book were based on old photographs of Ellis Island and people and places connected to their studies. Their teacher showed them a box filled with copies of artifacts and documents about Ellis Island, so then they decided to make one for The Arrival. The students of Edinger House love this book and hope that their collection will encourage you to seek it out for yourself.
We dedicate The Arrival Collection to Shaun Tan as thanks for creating his incredible book, The Arrival, and inspiring us all.
Diary of the Man
My piece for the Arrival Collection was a model of the man’s diary. If you’ve read The Arrival you’ll see in different sections that he takes out his diary to write a letter to his family. I was inspired to write the diary because I got to make up what was in the man’s mind with what I knew from the book.
*****
“I think that the book THE ARRIVAL is a very creative book and I was intrigued by the pictures”.
PASSPORT
I made a passport of the main character and there is a drawing of him. I copied the passport from the book. I also made some animals out of paper.
*****
“I hope you like my letter.”
Crane Letter
My letter is just from the man in the book talking about how he likes the place he is in and life with his pet. He made three new friends who tell about their stories and why they came to America. He tried out one or two jobs, a mail man and something else.
*****
“Because there were no words, we ended up thinking about what the pictures meant.”
Mary Lou Steamer Ticket
The ticket for the Mary Lou Steamer represents the steamer ticket from the man in The Arrival. The man is paying for the $10.00 ticket and the 10 cents. The Mary Lou is a big steamer with lots of levels and cabins. The man is on level 2 and cabin 16. He is traveling from Tokyo, Japan to Ellis Island, New York City.
*****
“The Arrival is a great book. Teachers should read it to kids! I really enjoyed it!”
I Miss You
This letter the man in the book writes to his family. Just like any other dad and husband he says he misses them and it’s lonely.
The Man’s Pet
All through the book you see the man has a friend who follows him everywhere. Who is this friend? His pet.
*****
“Its so amazing that a book with no words could mean so much!”
A Letter He Sends
This letter is for the mother and the daughter. In the letter he is asking the mother and the daughter to come and join him in the new world. I folded it like a crane because the man folds it like a crane.
The Girl in a Picture
I made a picture of the man’s daughter about to go to bed. She is in her pajamas. It is brown because I wanted it to look very old.
*****
“The Arrival is a very good book to have such interesting parts!”
Steamship Postcard
The postcard has a picture of a ship on it. The ship has two smokestacks and four towers. It has a deck and a lot of windows. There is a star that symbolizes the White Star Line. On the back of the card it has symbols that are really English letters, but it is from the man in the book’s point of view.
*****
“I think The Arrival is cool because it has no words, it makes it kind of a mystery what is happening and it also is more fun.”
I made money in a wallet because I thought it was a cool idea to make up your own money because it’s like inventing your own little thing.
*****
“It is a good book, even without words. It is a terrific book!”
My Letter to Shaun Tan
Bill of Fare
The bill of fare tells what each market food is, and how much it costs. Although it is in their language, it is translated for us by one of my classmates.
*****
“It’s fun to read a book without words”
Passport of Guy Who Tells the Story of the Giants
This is the passport of the guy who tells the story of the giants. I drew it like the one in the book. You may not understand the writing, I don’t either, but that’s how it looks in the book.
Key
*****
“It is so good and it has no words!”
Family Picture
I made a picture of a man and his wife and daughter from the book in front of mantle.
Map of Old Country
This shows railroads, streets, market, the man’s house, other houses, train station, and cars.
*****
“I like a picture book that has more pictures than words!”
Map of City
My map of the city has a market in the middle of the square. It has a lot of writing on it. There are two beaches on it, one has a shell on it, the other has a sun umbrella on it. There are two churches on it. It also has a dragon thing on it and a factory on it.
*****
“The Arrival is kind of hard to read because it has no words, but it was interesting.”
Food
These are some of the foods that they have in The Arrival. They are unknown and strange. My friend helped me with it. There is also a Bill of Fare but she is telling you about that.
*****
“It Is Amazing How A Book With No Words Could Tell You This Much”
Ship’s Manifest
I made the manifest. A manifest is like a list pf the people who are on the ship. It tells the steamship company any thing that they need to know about the passengers. (e.g. name in full, sex, if they were single or married, if they could read or write, and so on.) Since some people’s names were changed at Ellis Island, I thought that it would make sense to have some of these peoples names changed, too. The most important part in the manifest to the people who owned the steamships was probably the money.
*****
“For my experience, ‘reading’ a book without words is new and sometimes it is better without words than with words!”
The Complete Map of the New Country
The reason why I made a map is because when I was little I started a collection of maps and now it’s really big! I started by looking in the book where the man is looking at his map to find his way. The first road I drew (named DE backwards) was in THE ARRIVAL. I got most of the names of the roads from language in the book. The road with railroad tracks in the middle (on the left) is actually a real road in Cleveland, Ohio. The name is Van Aken and it has a railroad in the middle! Because I am left-handed and so is my mom and sister, they said writing backwards is a special talent for lefties so I did that.
*****
“The Arrival is like a code you have to figure out.”
The Origami Creatures
I made a few origami pieces that I thought looked like creatures from the book. One origami is a bird or crane. One is a balloon that the man floats down from the sky in (a friend helped me with it). Another is a star that I thought looked like a flower.
*****
“The Arrival is the best picture book I’ve ever read!”
This letter from the family is in a brown envelope. The letter says how the family is coming to America. The date is on my birthday but not the year. In the letter they talk about the strange animal following the man too.
*****
“It was very different working with a book without words.”
Cross Language Dictionary/Sketchbook
Game
