This morning, I was so happy to learn (via 7imp) ) that Shaun Tan has won the Astrid Lindgren Award prize.

I’ve been a fan of his books and his fine art for a long time and feel fortunate to have seen him speak at the Vancouver Children’s Roundtable event a couple of years ago, where he gave a fascinating and often very funny talk about his books, his work and his, at the time, work in progress on The Lost Thing animated short. At the end he was exceedingly generous with his time, speaking to everyone in the long book signing line, and autographing with little sketches.

He can paint, he can tell a story and he has appeared to have followed his own path and interests with picture books, graphic novels and books that defy regular classification – like the delightful Tales from Outer Suburbia – and that is so wonderful. An award well won.

The books are beautifully illustrated and designed. Have a look at them here, or at your local independent bookstore.

The Lost Thing animated short and The Lost Thing book, both on itunes.

Also, don’t miss Eric, a story from Tales from Outer Suburbia in slideshow format on the Guardian website.