Australian illustrator and author Terry Denton dies aged 76

Australian illustrator and author Terry Denton has died aged 76. He is best known for his work on the Treehouse series, written by Andy Griffiths. He published more than 30 of his own books, and with Macmillan Children’s Books, he published 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.

Denton’s publisher, Macmillan Children’s, paid tribute to him, as Gaby Morgan, associate publisher at Macmillan Children’s Books, said: “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 storeys 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 now available in 35 languages in translation and has sold over 13 million English-language copies around the world.

Morgan added: “That same curiosity and wit ran through Terry Denton’s Really Truly Amazing Guide to Everything (2020), written and illustrated by Terry, a funny and fascinating whistle-stop tour of the history and science of the universe, life on Earth, biology, geography, geology, the weather, evolution and how people harness the forces of nature to create extraordinary things.”

Alison Ruane, managing director at Macmillan Children’s Books, said: “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.”