The Red Tree by Shaun Tan

Depression can be difficult to explain to children in a way that they can understand. Tan’s picture book portrays feelings of sadness, loneliness, and enduring hopefulness with pictures that say more than words ever could. A child can interpret the pictures in any way that relates to them personally, and Tan’s illustrations capture a lot of universal emotion. This book would be a great comfort to readers of all ages dealing with difficult issues, and may help them feel less alone. The Red Tree ends on a hopeful note, and if you go back and look through the rest of the book, you see that there was hope all along. The art is phenomenal and moves beyond the symbolism that you normally see to express feelings of sadness.

This is an illustration from the book called “nobody understands.”