A boy scavenges the beach for his bottle top collection when he discovers a lost “thing”; a large, freakish creature that looks like a cross between a crab and a pot-bellied stove. Thus begins a witty and strange narrative set in a creepy, futuristic environment. Shaun Tan’s artwork, collages comprised of such unusual elements as old textbook pages, oil paint, gears, and tubes, inspires young readers to figure out what goes where, and why, in this challenging mix of science fiction and puzzle book.

陳志勇(Shaun Tan)

他曾在2000年以書籍插畫贏得Spectrum Gold Award 獎項,1995年時亦以《The Viewer》一書贏得Crichton Award獎項。與John Marsden 合作之《The Rabbits》一書則是在1999年同時獲得CBCA Book of the Year以及Aurealis Governor's Award 兩項大獎。由Gary Crew撰文之《Memorial》在次年獲得了 CBCA Honour Book以及 APA Design Award。「失物招領」在2000年於澳洲出版,近年來他已是澳洲數一數二的知名科幻小說插畫家,並受到各方肯定,諸如1991年的illustrators of the Future Award 、1995及1996年的Australian National Science Fiction Best Artist Award。