Illustrator Terry Denton dies aged 76
The Australian creator became known worldwide for the Treehouse books with writer Andy Griffiths.
Australian illustrator and children’s author Terry Denton has died aged 76. He was best known for his long-running collaboration with writer Andy Griffiths on the popular Treehouse series.
Terry Denton died surrounded by his family near Melbourne, according to his literary agency and publisher. No cause of death has been disclosed. Australian broadcaster ABC reported his death on Tuesday.
Before working with Andy Griffiths, Denton had already created almost 30 books. Together they began The 13-Storey Treehouse in 2011, the first in a series in which fictional versions of the two creators live in an increasingly absurd treehouse.
The Treehouse books became an international success. According to ABC, the books were read in 35 countries and more than 10 million copies were sold worldwide. The series was eventually expanded to 13 books.
The collaboration centred on the interplay between text and image. Griffiths wrote the structure and jokes, while Denton added drawings and unexpected visual digressions. In the books, the two creators themselves became characters, making the creative process part of the story.
Outside the Treehouse series, Denton also worked on children’s books, picture books and television projects. His Gasp! series was adapted for television. In 1986, he won the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year Award for Felix and Alexander.
The collaboration with Griffiths lasted more than 30 years. Griffiths described Denton as a creator without a large ego, who mainly made ideas bigger by taking them apart and rebuilding them.
Denton worked in a tradition of Australian children’s books in which absurdism, wordplay and drawings play an equal role. His work was therefore aimed not only at beginning readers, but also at adults reading together with children.
His death marks the end of a notable international partnership, but not of the series. The Treehouse books remain available and, together with Denton’s other work, form the most important part of his literary legacy.
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The biographical core and the international significance of Denton’s work are well supported by ABC and Readings. The text avoids stating an unconfirmed cause of death.
- confirmed Terry Denton died aged 76. — ABC News reports his age and death. source
- confirmed Denton worked with Andy Griffiths for more than 30 years. — ABC describes the collaboration as lasting three decades. source
- confirmed The Treehouse books were published in 35 countries and sold more than 10 million copies. — These figures appear in ABC’s overview. source
- confirmed Denton won a Picture Book of the Year Award for Felix and Alexander in 1986. — ABC mentions this award. source
Editor's note
Death, age, collaboration and body of work were confirmed by ABC and an Australian bookseller. The cause of death has not been disclosed and has not been filled in.Sources
- Terry Denton, children's author and illustrator behind Treehouse series, dies aged 76 — ABC News Australia
- In memory of Terry Denton — Readings
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „terry denton”
- de Volkskrant — „terry denton”
- RTL Nieuws — „terry denton”