Terry Denton, the Australian illustrator and author best known for his work on the Treehouse series with writer Andy Griffiths, died September 21. He was 76. The Guardian reported that Denton was the author and illustrator of more than 30 of his own books, including the Gasp! series, which was adapted for the screen. He also collaborated with several other writers, including Mem Fox, Paul Jennings, and Gillian Rubinstein.
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Griffiths, a longtime friend and collaborator with Denton, said: "Working--and playing--with Terry over three decades has been an incredible honor and a pure delight. I've never laughed so hard as I did when working with him, whether in the writing room or on stage. He was a true clown and much beloved--both in real life and as a character in the Treehouse series. Jill and I will miss him greatly."
"Terry Denton is an icon of children's books, known across the country as prodigiously talented, truly delightful, and very funny," said Claire Craig, deputy publishing director, Pan Macmillan Australia, adding that everyone at the publisher "loved working with Terry, marveling at his extraordinary imagination and joyful humor. Terry's books will keep making kids laugh and laugh, and turn the pages with glee for so many years to come."
Macmillan Children's Books published Denton's Terry Denton's Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything, The Bumper Book of Silly Stuff to Do, and The Bumper Book of Holiday Stuff to Do, the Bookseller noted.
Associate publisher Gaby Morgan recalled: "We began publishing Terry's wonderful collaborations with Andy Griffiths in 2010. The brilliantly funny text and equally funny illustrations of the Help! and Just! series were immediately popular with kids, but it was the Treehouse series--13 books of 13 stories each--that truly took off. These very funny stories, brought to life by Terry's imaginative, endlessly detailed and entertaining artwork, became the launchpad for countless children's reading, writing and drawing journeys." The series is available in 35 languages in translation and has sold more than 13 million copies in English around the world.
Alison Ruane, managing director at Macmillan Children's Books, added: "For a generation of children--of every reading ability--a Treehouse book was often where a reading habit began. Parents loved them just as much as their kids did, and a new Treehouse book was one of the biggest, most eagerly awaited moments in children's publishing each year. Terry's artwork brought something all its own to that success: brilliantly detailed, clever, funny and often quietly informative, rewarding readers who came back to pore over every page again and again. Our thoughts are with Terry's family at this incredibly sad time."
Griffiths told ABC News: "I'm incredibly grateful for his legacy, that we were able to get so much out to the children of Australia and the world.... We were quite different in many ways. It's that difference that makes a creative partnership work... it was a match made in heaven.... He had a complete lack of ego. In the books, we were mad at each other all the time, but in real life, it was a very harmonious relationship. We would supercharge each other. I would create a structure and he'd come in and throw a spanner in the works."
Denton won several major awards across his career, including the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award in 1986 for Felix and Alexander.