Ted Dewan

Ted Dewan is a UK-based American cartoonist, born in 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts, and is one of the UK’s best-known children’s authors and illustrators. He is married to fellow-illustrator Helen Cooper.

Life

Ted Dewan grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, and had musical and artistic aspirations from a young age. He studied engineering and electronic music at Brown University, Rhode Island before working for five years as a Physics teacher at Milton Academy. [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] As well as his Science duties at Milton Academy, Dewan directed various musical shows. [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

In 1988, his British girlfriend inspired him to relocate to London, where he began to make a living as a full-time illustrator and cartoonist, drawing for british newspapers such as The Times (and The Times Educational Supplement), The Guardian, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] In his spare time, he performed a solo accordion act on London's comedy circuit, to mixed and "misunderstood" reviews at such venues as The Comedy Store and Hackney Empire. He found appreciation for his artwork and his music in fellow illustrator/author Helen Cooper and the two were subsequently married. [ [http://www.wormworks.com/helenpages/hcbioex.htm Helen Cooper biography at Workworks] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

Dewan is most noted for having worked with science-writer Steve Parker on a number of highly-praised (and award-winning) Children's non-fiction volumes in which Dewan's pen and ink and watercolor artwork complimented "Parker's examination of the morphology of the world's largest mammals," concurrently he illustrated a couple of adult non-fiction tomes, by Dr. Robert Ornstein. [ [http://www.wormworks.com/helenpages/hcbioex.htm Helen Cooper biography at Workworks] . Accessed February 7, 2008] [ [http://www.wormworks.com/tedpages/tdbiblio.htm Ted Dewan bibliography at WormWorks] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

Dewan next turned his hand to "writing" as well as illustrating, producing in 1994 a version of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" (Scholastic), which "Books for Keeps"' Pam Harwood praised both for Dewan's "'cool' language" and "bright, lively pictures." [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/ted-dewan Ted Dewan biography at "Answers.com"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] A number of other solo writing/illustrating projects have followed since, in particular the Bing Bunny series.

Becoming a father in 1998 (to daughter Pandora), he decided to focus his time more thoroughly to writing and illustrating books, although still contributes occasional bookreviews and illustrations to the TES, and has also produced "soundtracks" for "most of his picture books". [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] These he combines with slides of artwork, and presents as Magic Lantern shows in schools and at festivals around the country, with intentions to release some commercially, and showcase them on his website [http://www.workworks.com/ WormWorks.com] . [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

Dewan and Cooper moved from London to Oxford in 2001, where they live "a short bike ride" away from David Fickling Books, with whom Dewan works closely. [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] Oxford-based His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman gave Dewan::".. [Pullman's] famous shed in 2002, with the covenant agreed that only creative work in it, and that the shed was to be passed on to another artist, writer, or musician when the time came, if it hadn't turned to dust in the meantime." [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

In recent years, Dewan has experimented with three-dimensional artwork, particularly 2004's "Cyclemas Tree", "a 20-foot 1.5 tonne illuminated Christmas Tree made of derelict bicycles and scaffolding." [ [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"] . Accessed February 7, 2008] More recently still, his work has eatured in books related to the BBC comedy panel game television quiz show "QI" ("Quite Interesting"), created and produced by John Lloyd, hosted by Stephen Fry, and featuring permanent panellist Alan Davies. In particular, he contributed "400 diagrams and cartoons" to "The Book of Animal Ignorance", and various illustrations to "The QI "E" Annual" (or "The QI Annual 2007"), both published by Faber and Faber in 2007. [ [http://www.qi.com/shop/animal_ignorance.php "Animal Ignorance" at the QI Shop] . Accessed February 5, 2008]

Awards and roles

Dewan won a Mother Goose Award in 1992 for his illustrations in "Inside the Whale & Other Animals", which was also shortlisted for the 1992 TES Information Award. [ [http://www.faber.co.uk/media/files/medialibrary_39823.pdf Faber and Faber's new books catalogue, July - December 2007, page 18] . Accessed February 6, 2008] In 1997, his work "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" was shortlisted for the Kurt Maschler Award, and listed on the "Young Book Trust 100 Best Books" list. [ [http://www.wormworks.com/tedpages/bcsorcer.htm "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" at WorkWorks] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

He is a member of the Society of Authors, and former chairman of their Children's Writers and Illustrators Group. He is also a member of the Royal Institution. [ [http://www.answers.com/topic/ted-dewan Ted Dewan biography at "Answers.com"] . Accessed February 7, 2008]

Bibliography

Author and Illustrator

*"3 Billy Goats Gruff" HB (Andre Deutsch 1994)
**PB (Scholastic 1995)
**US (Scholastic, Inc 1995)
*"Top Secret" (Andre Deutsch/Scholastic 1996)
**US (Bantam Doubleday Dell 1997)
*"The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Corgi/Transworld 1997)
**"The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Music of Magic and Electricity" (Corgi Audio Tape 1997)
* "Crispin, The Pig Who Had It All" (Transworld 2000)
* "Baby Gets the Zapper" (Transworld 2001)
* "Crispin and the 3 Little Piglets" (Transworld 2002)
*"Crispin and the Best Birthday Surprise Ever" (Transworld 2007)

Bing Bunny

* "Bing Bunny: Bing Get Dressed" (David Fickling Books 2003)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Paint Day" (David Fickling Books 2003)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Bed Time" (David Fickling Books 2003)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Something for Daddy" (David Fickling Books 2003)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Go Picnic" (David Fickling Books 2004)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Make Music" (David Fickling Books 2004)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Swing" (David Fickling Books 2004)
* "Bing Bunny: Bing Yuk" (David Fickling Books 2004)

Illustrator

Children's non-fiction

*Parker, Steve & Dewan, Ted, "Inside the Whale and Other Animals" (Dorling Kindersley/Doubleday, 1992)
*Parker, Steve & Dewan, Ted, "Inside Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals" (Dorling Kindersley, 1993)
*"The Weatherbirds" (Puffin Books/Penguin 1999)

Children's fiction

*Wright, Kit, "Rumpelstiltskin" (Scholastic 1998)
*Cooper, Helen, "Sandmare" (Corgi/Transworld 2001)
*Kay, Elizabeth, "The Divide" (Chicken House, 2003)
*Laird, Elizabeth, "The Ice Cream Swipe" (OUP 2003)
*Kay, Elizabeth, "Back to the Divide" (Chicken House, 2004)
*Kay, Elizabeth, "Jinx on the Divide" (Chicken House, 2005)
*Masson, Sophie, The Thomas Trew Series (Hodder & Stoughton, 2006-2008)
**Book 1: "Thomas Trew and the Hidden People" HB (2006)
***PB (2007)
**Book 2: "Thomas Trew and the Horns of Pan" PB (2007)
**Book 3: "Thomas Trew and the Klint-King's Gold" PB (2007)
**Book 4: "Thomas Trew and the Selkie's Curse" PB (2007)
**Book 5: "Thomas Trew and the Flying Huntsman" PB (2007)
**Book 6: "Thomas Trew and the Island of Ghosts" PB (2008)
*(Shakespeare) "retold by" Birch, Beverly, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Hodder & Stoughton 2006)

Adult non-fiction

*Ornstein, Dr. Robert, "The Evolution of Consciousness" (Prentice-Hall US 1991)
*Ornstein, Dr. Robert, "The Roots of the Self" (HarperCollins US 1993)
*Burke, James & Ornstein, Dr. Robert, "The Axemaker’s Gift" (G. P. Putnam's Sons US 1995)
*Hauser, Marc D., "Wild Minds" (Henry Holt, NY 1999)
*Lloyd, John & Mitchinson, John, "The Book of Animal Ignorance" (Faber and Faber, UK Oct 2007) (ISBN 978-0-571-23370-0) "Designer and illustrator"
*The QI Elves ^{[http://www.qi.com/about/people.php]} , "The QI "E" Annual" (A.K.A. "The QI Annual 2007") (Faber and Faber, UK Nov 2007) (ISBN 978-0-571-23779-1) "Various illustrations"

References

External links

* [http://www.wormworks.com/ WorkWorks: Art & Mischief websites by Ted Dewan and Helen Cooper]
* [http://www.imagesofdelight.com/client.asp?id=85 Ted Dewan biography at "Images of Delight"]
* [http://www.answers.com/topic/ted-dewan Ted Dewan biography at "Answers.com"]