The Oopsatoreum

by Shaun Tan, Powerhouse Museum

What does it mean to be truly original?
Should creativity be measured only by success?
Or is it really the thought that counts ?
No matter how impractical?
Behind every enduring innovation lies a vast cemetery of achievement: the world of failed inventions.
Award-winning author and illustrator Shaun Tan explores this forgotten world in The Oopsatoreum, a fictional tale of a strikingly original but spectacularly unsuccessful inventor. Woven around strange and largely obscure artefacts from the Powerhouse Museum, the whimsical stories in this book are for anyone who has ever made a mistake.
Illustrated with original drawings by Shaun Tan and stunning photographs of objects from the Powerhouse Museum collection.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Childrens

72 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Shaun Tan (born 1974) is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books. After freelancing for some years from a studio at Mt. Lawley, Tan relocated to Melbourne, Victoria, in 2007. Tan was the Illustrator in Residence at the University of Melbourne's Department of Language Literacy and Arts Education for two weeks through an annual Fellowship offered by the May Gibbs Children’s Literature Trust. 2009 World Fantasy Award for Best Artist. In 2011, he won his first Oscar in the category Best Short Animated Film for his work The Lost Thing.

Reviews

[notgettingenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the first Tan book I picked up - not surprisingly, given it's the wordiest of this illustrator's work. I bought threee copies in Melbourne and before I knew it they'd all disappeared into other people's bookshelves. One more for me then.

A charming book that will make you smile, if not giggle, and quite a (brave?)departure in style from his others. There is not a dark moment in it.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at first disappointed that there are very few illustrations by Tan in here, but once I started reading the text I was completely satisfied by his humour and imagination. I ended up reading aloud several of the entries to my daughter, as some were too hilarious not to share. My favourite entry was for the 'mouse slippers' that Mintox invents for his wife to help her get over her mice phobia. Needless to say it doesn't have the desired effect!
'No other invention has brought me closer to divorce proceedings', he wrote shortly after Maude had been rescued from a nearby lake. She had fallen into it after running two miles from their home, backwards all the way, desperately trying to escape her own feet. 'While I thought the element of surprise was critical, some warning may have been appropriate. Perhaps I should have attached the slippers less securely, and waited until Maude had finished her afternoon nap."

[Clare Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing over here.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Repurposing genuine museum items as the fictional inventions of the kooky Henry A. Mintox. A delight of lateral thinking.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, charming, very much in the Bruce McCall school of tongue in cheek humor.

[Winnie Marth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halfway through the book I still thought Henry A. Mintox was real and wondered how this kind of person existed.

[Titish A.K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empat bintang karena berhasil mengelabuiku: sampai selesai baca pun kukira Henry Mintox ini tokoh nyata xD

[Lynne Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oopsatoreum is fun - cleaver, beautifully illustrated, but mostly, just fun. Loved it!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Success, failure or self-delusion aside, one thing is certain; Mintox was one of this country's most fearless inventors. The sheer diversity of his legacy is matched only by its great lack of practical relevance."

Another book found in the juvenile section that is completely adequate and appropriate for readers of any age. Although brief, the book manages to be quite amusing.

There even seems to be a challenge to invent the impractical and the absurd for the sake of exploring our own desires. The pictures of actual items add a level of believability that almost makes one believe the doomed inventor lived.

The language is a bit advanced, which makes it ideal for reading aloud to children rather than having them read it on their own. For anyone older, it simply a pleasant quick read.

[Susan Le]

Just when I thought I had exhausted my collection of Shaun Tan books I came across this one in the bookstore and sat down to read it. I admit I don't usually read much of Tan's more lengthy pieces (for a picture book that is) but I found this book really engaging! I found myself laughing and chuckling out loud while reading it - I think what got me was the fact that the stories written were actually made up (however based on real inventions) yet for the full duration of reading it I fell for it believing that it was actually a true story... Silly me. It made me smile anyways. I loved the illustrations and typography.

[Romi (likes books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tells not only a really creative, vibrant story, but is a whirlwind of a read for the imagination. You get to look at all these amazing creations of the sorrowfully before his time creator of the inventions (odd phrasing, perhaps, but the internet is not working and I have little way of telling his name when my memory hasn't got a store of it); you get to wonder at the oddness and wonderfulness and peculiararity of it all, and you have his story to go along with it. It is marvellous and hilarious, both.

[Elle Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather odd but interesting fictional piece about a failed Australian inventor and his unpatenable creations. Mouse slippers, love trumpet and orwellington boots were a few of the items in question. Really quite odd.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a lot more from this image-wise, given that it's by Shaun Tan

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky, entertaining and most enjoyable

[M. Gem]

The Oopsatoreum, a fun reimagining of real, obscure museum objects, makes for a creative and surprisingly funny read.