Cicada

Reach for this book when your child feels overlooked, undervalued, or like they are working twice as hard as others just to be ignored. It is a profound choice for the preteen or teenager who feels the weight of social hierarchies or the exhaustion of trying to fit into a world that was not built for them. While the protagonist is a bug, the feelings of being an outsider are deeply human and universally felt during the transition to secondary school. Shaun Tan uses a surreal, corporate setting to tell the story of a cicada who works for seventeen years in a grey office without a single promotion or word of thanks. The book explores themes of quiet resilience and the hidden richness of the internal life. It is short but heavy with meaning, making it an excellent bridge for older kids who might find traditional 'picture books' babyish but still crave visual storytelling to process complex emotions like loneliness and systemic unfairness.