Shaun Tan’s illustrated book Tales from Outer Suburbia is being adapted into an animated series.

Tan and producer Sophie Byrne will develop the series with Flying Bark Productions.

Tales from Outer Suburbia has been translated in 28 territories’ across the world. The book follows 13-year-old Klara and her younger brother Pim. The two begin to witness strange and miraculous things in Australian suburbia, such as seeing a water buffalo in a deserted plot. As well as finding a hidden garden within their own home.

Tan and Byrne have previously collaborated on a similar work. A short film adaptation of Shaun’s illustrated book The Lost Thing, was a collaborative effort of the pair. The film won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

In regards to the adaptation, Tan said: ‘With Tales from Outer Suburbia, we hope to awaken that fantastic realisation that fiction and reality are never very far from one another. That there is really no such thing as a normal life.’