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Ted Dewan is an American-born British writer and illustrator ofchildren's books who resides in England. He is best known as the creator of the award-winning book series,Bing, now adapted into an animated television series.
Dewan was born in Boston and raised inLexington, Massachusetts, the first son of physicist Dr Edmond M Dewan and scholar/attorney Karen Dean-Smith. He grew up with his brother, musician and artistBrian Dewan[1] and both brothers had musical and artistic aspirations from a young age. He studiedengineering andelectronic music atBrown University,Rhode Island where he studied with his mentor, author/illustrator David Macaulay, before working for five years as aPhysics teacher atMilton Academy.[2] As well as his science-teaching duties at Milton Academy, Dewan directed various musical shows including a touring satirical student pop band.
He relocated to London where he began to make a living as a full-time illustrator and cartoonist, drawing for British newspapers includingThe Times (andTimes Educational Supplement),The Guardian,The Independent andThe Daily Telegraph.[2] In his spare time, he performed a soloaccordion act on London's comedy circuit, to mixed and "misunderstood" reviews at such venues asThe Comedy Store and theHackney Empire. Within a few years of moving to London, he metHelen Cooper, another children's illustrator and writer. They have one daughter.
Dewan and Cooper moved from London toOxford, where Dewan worked closely withDavid Fickling Books, the original publisher of theBing books.[2] His move to Oxford also saw the beginning of an eight-year pilot project to transform his residential street in the UK's only DIY redesign project designed and built entirely by its residents with guidance and funding from Bristol-basedSustrans. He was given stewardship of the writer's shed from Oxford-based authorPhilip Pullman in 2002, with a covenant agreed that only creative work shall take place in it, and that the shed was to be passed on freely to another maker when the time came. The shed has now been passed on and its story continues.
Divorced in 2018, Dewan now lives inBrixton, London, where he works primarily in children's television animation.
Dewan began his career with science-writerSteve Parker on a number of children's non-fiction books. Dewan'spen and ink andwatercolor artwork complemented "Parker's examination of the morphology of the world's largest mammals" (and alsoInside dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures). ForInside the Whale and Other Animals he won the 1992Mother Goose Award[3] from Books for Children as "the most exciting newcomer to British children's book illustration".Concurrently he illustrated a couple of adult non-fiction books byDr. Robert Ornstein.[4][5]
Dewan next turned his hand to writing as well as illustrating, producing in 1994 a baseball version ofThe Three Billy Goats Gruff. A number of other solo writing/illustrating projects have followed since, in particular theBing Bunny series, which has been adapted into aTV series.
The first of three Crispinpicture books won the Blue Peter Award, and was a runner-up for the 2000Kate Greenaway Medal[6] from theLibrary Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by aBritish subject.[a]Cooper had won the 1996 and 1998 Medals.[6]
More recently, his illustration work has featured in books related to theBBC comedypanel game televisionquiz showQI. In particular, he contributed "400 diagrams and cartoons" toThe Book of Animal Ignorance, and various illustrations toThe QI"E" Annual (orThe QI Annual 2007), both published byFaber and Faber in 2007.[7]
His latest picture book withOrchard Books is about a courageous teddy bear charged with warming the heart of a troublesome boy.One True Bear (2009) was noted for its daring inclusion of actual young boys' drawings, including the "violent" ones not normally reproduced, especially in young children's literature.
In 2014 a television series calledBing based on his books began broadcast onCBeebies, produced by Acamar Films and animated by Brown Bag Films. He co-developed the series, co-wrote the pilot, and wrote or contributed to most of the scripts, while working with the animators on set and character design. The series has since become one of the most viewed programmes for children across the whole BBC, winning a BAFTA nomination and an International Emmy Award. The series features the voice talent of Oscar-winning actor,Mark Rylance.[8]
Dewan is currently developing another television animation project for children and has acted as consultant on other television projects.
Dewan began his commissioned three-dimensional artwork, including 2004'sCyclemas Tree, a 20-foot 1.5 tonne illuminated Christmas Tree made of derelict bicycles and scaffolding. In 2007, he was appointed lead artist for Oxford's Millennial celebration's extravaganza,Luminox, which featured his 70-foot bamboo spire pendulum sculpture with a flaming pendulum bob. The sculpture formed the centrepiece of a large-scale fire installation by the renowned French group Carabosse.[2] He is the creator of the Storyloom at Oxford'sStory Museum, which remains from the 2012 steampunk exhibition, The Fabulous Account of Rochester's Extraordinary Storyloom.[9]
His most recent commission was a sculpture and photography/design featured on the cover ofPhilip Selway's (Radiohead) second solo album,The Weatherhouse.
1992,Mother Goose Award, best new illustrator, forInside the Whale and Other Animals, written by Steve Parker
Best Book to Read Aloud, the picture bookCrispin, the Pig Who Had It All
2015,BAFTA nomination, "Bing"
2016,International Emmy Award, "Bing"
2016,Writers' Guild of Great Britain, team scriptwriter "Bing"
1992, shortlisted for theTES information book award for his illustration ofInside the Whale & Other Animals, written by Steve Parker.[10]
1997, shortlisted forKurt Maschler Award, integrated writing and illustration,The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and named one of theYoung Book Trust 100 Best Books[11]
2002, commended runner-up for theKate Greenaway Medal,Crispin the Pig Who Had It All[6][a]
2004, named one of thePublishers Weekly Books of the Year, theBing Bunny series of books fortoddlers
