Terry Denton has collaborated with Andrew Daddo on many of his books, although Daddo had little choice of illustrator. Denton adds to the comic genius of Daddo’s books, and together the two become an unstoppable pair in writing for children.

I wanted to get a bit of a background on Denton before I jump into him with Daddo and his texts. He was born in 1950 in Melbourne so he is a local Aussie boy. Something I had forgotten or was unaware of until just recently, is the fact that Denton does not just illustrate other author’s books, but he also writes and illustrates numerous amounts of his own work. He also worked on a TV show called Lift-Off, so it would appear that Terry Denton is a jack of all trades. He is good at all of these jobs, but I think he is probably most widely recognised for his illustrations in children’s books, which is where I think his true talent lies. His drawings add an element to the books which I believe no other illustrator would have been able to create; they certainly add a tasty ingredient when reading books such as Dacked! and other kids books. He is said to have an inventive and adventurous style of drawing which adds to the book and he seems to be able to connect with the kids reading, through this style of drawing which comes so naturally to him. Just to prove the brilliance of his work, he won the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award in 1986 and has been short-listed many times after. He won both the Multicultural Book of the Year and the Best Designed Book in 1993. In 2003 he was shortlisted for the 2002 Aurealis Award, clearly proving that he is man with talent.

Another element which makes him exciting and interesting even before you open Daddo’s books, is the fact that he has previously collaborated with other great kids writers such as Paul Jennings and Andy Griffith. This is where I knew him from and automatically had high expectations, which I think are met in Daddo’s books. The style of drawing we all love and know came through in Daddo’s books and the humour of the book is reflected in all of the illustrations. Even the first drawing is hilarious in its reflection of Fergus’ dad and his brother. He creates an element within the book that would not have been able to achieve without him. He constantly has a cheeky, humorous style of drawing throughout Dacked!, which can especially be seen in the last illustration of the book, also the amount of detail continually put into each drawing is outstanding. The last image has caused quite a bit of controversy, which I think is funny as it is the natural body in its purest form, and to a child it would be so funny to that picture and try and imagine if it was you. I know I would certainly cringe and hate if it was me in the drawing. Nearly every drawing in Dacked!, and certainly in other books that have been illustrated by Denton, has a humorous element. The image below, is the back page of Dacked!, I think it is worthy of a few million giggles I’m sure it is going to get.

In my opinion Denton is one of the great illustrators of Australian kids literature. And I don’t think he should give it up any time soon.

-Natasha