My Strange Shrinking Parents: A Tall Tale by Zeno Sworder

It goes without saying that all children believe their parents to be strange.
Mine were unusual for a different reason…

One boy’s parents travel from far-off lands to improve their son’s life. But what happens next is unexpected. What does it mean when your parents are different? What shape does love take? And what happens when your parents sacrifice a part of themselves for you?

In this heartbreaking and heart-warming story, Zeno Sworder reflects on his own migrant parents’ sacrifices to create a universal story about what it means to give to those you love. Drawing from the sacrifices his Chinese mother made to raise her young family in a small country town, Sworder’s drawings are full of beautiful detail and fairytale settings that explore his own journey from child to parent.

With humour and pathos, Sworder reflects on the strange nature of giving and receiving love and celebrates those parents who embrace a hard life for themselves in the hope of a better life from their children. Full of depth and generosity as well as insight and candour, Sworder brings this gorgeous fable to life.

Read by Trystan Go.  

Download the 2023 Children's Book Week educator resources for this story.

Credits

• Written by

  Zeno Sworder

• Illustrated by

  Zeno Sworder

• Performed by

  Trystan Go

• Published By

  Thames & Hudson Australia

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