SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Black Hole Cinema Club
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.daviddean.co.uk/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 321
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1976.
EDUCATION:Manchester Metropolitan University, B.A. (with honors), 1999, M.A., 1999.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator, 1999—. Clients include Chronicle Books, Barefoot Books, Egmont Children’s Books, Faber & Faber, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Children’s Books, David Fickling Books, Random House, Hodder Headline, Penguin, Macmillan, Time Warner Books, Duncan Baird Publishers, Transworld Publishers, Oxford University Press, Godsfield Press, Lion Publishing, HarperCollins, BBC, Fox Kalomaski, Mother, CAFOD, and Christian Aid.
AWARDS:Gold Medal, 3×3 Picture Book Show, 2012; Bronze Medal, 3×3 Picture Book Show, 2018; Best Front Cover, Redhill Academy Trust Book Awards, 2023.
WRITINGS
Also illustrator of more than forty book covers, including twenty covers for a series of reissues of Michael Morpurgo’s novels by Egmont Publishing, including the War Horse.
SIDELIGHTS
British illustrator David Dean has provided artwork for advertisements, magazines, and posters, as well as for more than forty book covers. “My work is colourful and lively with broad appeal,” the artist remarked on his home page. (open new) In an interview with a contributor to the Children’s Illustrator website, Dean discussed the moment when he first considered becoming a professional illustrator. He stated: “When I was maybe 15 I was looking at a Star Trek novel I was reading (another fantasy world to escape into!) and it dawned on me that someone actually painted the cover, and presumbaly was being paid for it. That’s when I really started paying attention to book jackets in particular, and illustration in general, and knew that’s what I wanted to do as a career.” (close new—more below)
In addition to his work on book covers and other media, Dean has served as the illustrator for a number of children’s books, including The Reluctant Rajput by Richard Moverley. The work concerns Bhupinder, a young boy living in rural India who dreams that he is a Rajput, an ancient warrior. Dean’s “illustrations are suitable to the story and are appropriate for the age range but do not overdo the blood and gore referred to in the story,” wrote John Dryden in the Canadian Review of Materials, adding: “The illustrator has depicted Bhupinder’s community well, and a lot of information can be grasped from the art.”
Set in South Africa, Lauren St. John’s The White Giraffe focuses on eleven-year-old Martine, a British girl who is sent to live with her grandmother on a game reserve after her parents are killed in a fire. Told by a Zulu healer that she possesses mystical gifts, Martine then encounters a legendary white giraffe and attempts to save the creature from poachers. According to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, “Dean contributes charming watercolor illustrations that open each chapter.”
Dean has also illustrated books for Barefoot Books, a publishing company that focuses on providing children with insights into other cultures. The overall goal is to help parents raise the next generation to be global citizens who see the connection between all people but are also understanding of people’s differences that make them unique. Barefoot Books World Atlas by Nick Crane and illustrated by Dean provides an overview of the Earth’s oceans and continents. The book includes sidebars, flaps, and even mini-books that address a wide range of topics, such as transportation and weather in different regions of the worlds and information on the people and places that can be found in these regions.
Barefoot Books World Atlas begins by providing young readers with a story about the planet Earth and information on map making. It also includes a world map that is removable and suitable as a wall hanging. Noting that Dean “is known for his colourful and often exotic work,” School Librarian contributor Godfrey Hall went on to note that he “was most impressed with the tiny drawings” by Dean.
Dean also served as the illustrator for The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland and Kate DePalma. The book focuses on answering questions children may have about various social issues and about people around the world. For example, the authors answer questions such as how other children live. The book reveals both differences and similarities in children’s lives in various countries. In the process, Strickland and DePalma cover basic topics, including differences in diet and languages. They also explore issues such as children who have gay or adoptive parents.
Overall, Strickland and DePalma answer questions in a basic way suitable for young readers. For example, in their answer to questions about religion and spirituality, the authors focus on basic differences. For example, they discuss how some people pray while others meditate or just seek out quiet contemplation. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that Strickland and DePalma generally avoid more complex issues, such as wars and children who may be refugees.
Dean provides hand-painted illustrations to supplement the text and highlight differences and similarities in children and their families. “The glowing acrylic double-page spreads employ different layouts to add visual interest,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, adding the illustrations include “small vignettes … depict[ing] children from different cultures doing similar activities.” A contributor to the Reading Castle website remarked: “The colorful illustrations full of details will hold every reader’s attention and give the opportunity to explore and add one’s own story to the stories told.”
(open new)In My Especially Weird Week with Tess, written by Anna Woltz, Dean illustrates a story about preteen Sam, who meets Tess while vacationing with his family on Texel Island. Tess creates an elaborate scenario to connect with her absent father, while Sam separates himself from his family as he worries about a family member’s impending death. A Publishers Weekly reviewer suggested: “Brisk pacing and a fully realized setting by Woltz … paired with animated illustrations by Dean round out this fervent story.”
Another story featuring middle grade characters, The Mystery of Locked Rooms, finds nerdy Sarah finally connecting with fellow math-lovers, West and Hannah. They form a friend group called the Deltas. Though Sarah has finally found social connection, she is still troubled because a chronic illness in the family is leading to their financial ruin. When she learns her family may lose their home, she recruits the Deltas to go on a mission to find a rumored treasure in a creepy old funhouse. “This page-turner with touching character moments makes a fun read,” asserted Mia P. Manansala in Booklist.
Black Hole Cinema Club, written by Christopher Edge and illustrated by Dean, centers another friend group, this time a gaggle of film nerds. Members of the club go to see some of their favorite cult films in a new format that promises to make them truly interactive. They find themselves pulled into the films’ reality, and they work toward finding a way to escape. Jo Sennitt, contributor to School Librarian, called the book a “great read.”(close new)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 1, 2007, Anne O’Malley, review of The White Giraffe, p. 75; February 15, 2024, Mia P. Manansala, review of The Mystery of Locked Rooms, p. 66.
Canadian Review of Materials, April 14, 2006, John Dryden, review of The Reluctant Rajput.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2007, review of The White Giraffe; August 15, 2016, review of The Barefoot Book of Children.
Publishers Weekly, May 28, 2007, review of The White Giraffe, p. 63; August 22, 2011, review of Barefoot Books World Atlas, p. 66; December 2, 2016, review of The Barefoot Book of Children, pg. 45; April 3, 2023, review of My Especially Weird Week with Tess, p. 68.
School Librarian, winter, 2011, Godfrey Hall, review of Barefoot Books World Atlas, p. 218; summer, 2024, Jo Sennitt, review of Black Hole Cinema Club, p. 47.
School Library Journal, June, 2007, Robyn Gioia, review of The White Giraffe, p. 162.
ONLINE
Children’s Illustrators, https://www.childrensillustrators.com/ (August 15, 2008), author interview.
David Dean website, https://www.daviddean.co.uk/ (March 9, 2025).
Reading Castle, https://thereadingcastle.wordpress.com/ (September 19, 2016), review of The Barefoot Book of Children.
I am based in a nondescript town halfway between Manchester and the Peak District National Park, where I live with my two cats and a lot of books. I’ve been working as an illustrator for the last twenty-odd years, having graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University with a BA in Illustration and an MA in Communication Design in the late 90s. My childhood was spent drawing Star Wars and Transformers characters and until I was in my teens I wanted to draw comics when I grew up. When I was about 14 I was reading a novel and it suddenly dawned on me that someone had been paid to paint the cover illustration and that sounded like an amazing job to have since drawing and reading were my two favourite things. Now, amongst lots of other illustrations, I’ve done covers for just over 200 books, and I was right: it is an amazing job to have.
CLIENT LIST
Penguin Random House, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Barefoot Books, Egmont Children's Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, Faber & Faber, Nosy Crow, UCLan, Chicken House, Holiday House Books, Simon and Schuster, Piccadilly Press, Welbeck Flame, Andersen Press, Michael O’Mara Books, Stripes Publishing, Walker Books, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Children's Books, David Fickling Books, Scholastic Books, Hodder Headline, Macmillan, Chronicle Books, Maverick, Sleeping Bear Press, Time Warner Books, Duncan Baird Publishers, Transworld Publishers, Oxford University Press, Godsfield Press, Lion Publishing, HarperCollins, Crocodile Creek, V&A Museum of Childhood, BBC, Turner Duckworth, Fox Kalomaski, Mother, CAFOD, Christian Aid
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Shortlisted, Branding/Identity Category, British Book Design and Production Awards 2010
Gold Medal, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2012
Shortlisted, Children’s Books category, AOI Illustration Awards 2014
Merit, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2014
Honourable Mention, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2015
Bronze Medal, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2018
Distinguished Merit, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2018
Merit, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2018
Selected for Society of Illustrators Annual 2018
Shortlisted, The Kitschies Inky Tentacle Award for best cover, 2018
Honourable Mention, 3x3 Picture Book Show 2019
Selected for Society of Illustrators Annual 2020
Merit (x3), 3x3 Professional Show 2020
Shortlisted, Book Covers category, World Illustration Awards 2020
Best Front Cover, Redhill Academy Trust Book Awards 2021
Merit, 3x3 Professional Show 2021
Honourable Mention (x3), 3x3 Professional Show 2021
Longlisted, Book Covers category, World Illustration Awards 2021
Merit (x2), 3x3 Professional Show 2022
Best Front Cover, Redhill Academy Trust Book Awards 2023
Honourable Mention, 3x3 Professional Show 2023
Longlisted, Book Covers category, World Illustration Awards 2023
QUOTED: "when I was maybe 15 I was looking at a Star Trek novel I was reading (another fantasy world to escape into!) and it dawned on me that someone actually painted the cover, and presumbaly was being paid for it. That's when I really started paying attention to book jackets in particular, and illustration in general, and knew that's what I wanted to do as a career. "
David Dean
Children's Illustrator
Interview
Who or what made you want to become an illustrator?
Like most illustrators, I think from a very early age I loved to draw. Although I did fairly well academically at school, I didn't really like school and so drawing was a different world - contained in my head and on a piece of paper - that I could escape into. And of course, I loved comics as a kid, so for a while I wanted to be a comic book illustrator. And then when I was maybe 15 I was looking at a Star Trek novel I was reading (another fantasy world to escape into!) and it dawned on me that someone actually painted the cover, and presumbaly was being paid for it. That's when I really started paying attention to book jackets in particular, and illustration in general, and knew that's what I wanted to do as a career. That led to me doing a BA(Hons) in Illustration with Animation and an MA in Communication Design, both at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Share your favourite piece of artwork from your portfolio and walk us through its creation.
My favourite piece changes quite regularly but for the last year or so it has been the cover I did for Natasha Farrant's "The Children of Castle Rock", published by Faber & Faber. When I was commissioned to illustrate this one I don't think the manuscript was even finished so I was working from some descriptions of the main charcaters, a few pivotal scenes and the idea that the book's tone was "Enid Blyton meets St. Trinian's" (in fact, when I first received the brief, the book had a different title!). Normally I like to read the book before I start on the cover, but something about this one just spoke to me, and I ended up illustrating the book I had imagined in my mind from those bare bones. I was also asked to provide two alternative roughs/sketches. I began by doing a little research online of the highlands setting and then went straight into sketching out ideas in my sketchbook. Sometimes I'll go through many ideas before something starts to feel right, and occasionally the right idea arrives almost fully formed quite early on. This was one of those instances, and it just needed refining. As you can see, I soon got to a pencil sketch that isn't far away from the final cover. I then scanned this and carried on working on it in Photoshop. Depending on the length of the deadline for a project I like to work up my roughs in colour - not only does this save time (and possible false starts!) when it comes to painting the final artwork, but it gives me the freedom to experiment and try different things (the pink in the sky is a good example - I accidently adjusted the hue of the wrong layer, but it looked perfect). When I had the two alternative cover roughs done I submitted them to the designer at Faber, and was very quickly given the green light on my favourite of the two (the purple and yellow one) with no alterations needed.
David Dean interview image 0 David Dean interview image 1 David Dean interview image 2 David Dean interview image 3 David Dean interview image 4
Which project are you most proud of?
There are two recent ones that I'm proud of, though for different reasons.
The first is The Barefoot Book of Children (re-titled as Children of the World for the paperback release) which I just think is a very important and very timely book. I live in Britain which is currently being split down the middle by Brexit, and it's easy to see watching the news how the US is equally divided on many issues, and sadly (in both countries) one of those issues is race, so it seems that a book that seeks to show children that for all our differences (the foods we eat, the homes we live in, the worlds outside our windows) there are far more fundamental things that unite us and that the differences just make the world a richer and more vibrant place.
The second is the series of twenty covers I did for Egmont Books' reissue of their Michael Morpurgo backlist. To be asked to take on such a big project for such a major author (one of the covers was for 'War Horse' which is one of the best-loved children's novels of the last thirty or forty years) felt like a real validation of my work. And then to see some of the covers blown up to eight feet high and displayed in the V&A Museum of Childhood in London, with my artwork on the museum's windows, was a real thrill. Meeting Michael Morpurgo himself and hearing him praise my work was just the icing on the cake.
David Dean interview image 0 David Dean interview image 1
What was your first commission as a professional illustrator?
Haha! It was a book cover for a collection of essays - I was still a student on my MA course at the time and one of the lecturer's (a brilliant typographer) was also the art director for a small independent poetry publisher in Manchester. He asked me to do this cover for him and I think paid me the princely sum of fifty quid. It wasn't long after that when meeting agents that one (who went on to be my agent for the next 19 years) asked me if I had any published work. When I told her how much I'd been paid she said "you can keep that client"! After graduating my first commission was a horoscope illustration for Elle magazine (and that paid £250).
Have you ever thought about trying out a different technique or a different style?
I've thought about working digitally, mainly because everyone seems to these days. Most of my roughs are completed digitally, even if they start out in my sketchbook, and I do enjoy the freedom that Photoshop gives me to play around and experiment, particularly in terms of colour - I think it has made my use of colour much more sophisticated - but I love working in paint, and I think there is a timeless quality to work that has been created by hand on paper or canvas. I enjoy that physical connection to the finished piece.
As for style: well my style has developed over the years, as I've learned new things, as I've absorbed new influences, and sometimes as a result of being challenged by a particular brief, but I feel like it has been a gradual, organic development; there has never been that piece that I can point to as being totally different than anything that came before. And I think that is because I haven't really thought about my "style" in maybe 15 years or more. It isn't a hat I put on and can swap for a different one, though I hugely admire illustrators who do work in multiple styles, or take that risk and completely reinvent their portfolio. When I was at university and in my first few years of working professionally I used to do a lot of flat perspective that was inspired by Indian miniature painting, but it was always done very consciously. Now I feel like my style is just my natural voice, the way I see the world.
Which area of children’s publishing excites you the most?
I am passionate about book covers, and I've naturally gravitated towards novels for the 8-12yrs Middle Grade age range, where there's still an innocence and charm to the books; and whilst the subjects can be challenging (the death of a loved one, the horrors of war...) they're never handled in a way that is too dark, so I can use lots of lovely bright colours. There's usually a bit of adventure or mystery in those books too which lends itself to dramatic compositions and crazy persepctive, things that I just love doing.
David Dean interview image 0
Do you have a favourite soundtrack you listen to when you’re working?
When I'm researching or working on roughs I can't listen to music at all, but I do listen to podcasts. When I'm painting though, I have to have music, but I don't have a particular soundtrack. I do tend to get obsessed with a few albums that I listen to over and over for a couple of weeks before moving on to something else. At the moment it's Megson's "con-tra-dic-shun" (they're a fantastic folk duo from north east England), and the Wombats' "Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life" which is nicely up tempo and has some charmingly wacky lyrics ("I brought a lemon to a knife fight"...).
Animals feature heavily in children’s books – do you have a pet?
I do - I have two cats, called Button and Ptolemy. They're brothers (littermates?) and are 11 now though they act like kittens half of the time. They frequently visit me in my studio whilst I'm working and they brighten up every day. They've also cropped up in quite a few of my illustrations!
David Dean interview image 0
What do you hope children take away from your drawings?
I hope they can get lost in them the way I used to do as a child, that maybe they can be that place to escape to that drawing (or Star Trek!) offered me. As a child I used to love the Brambly Hedge books - I don't really remember anything about the stories but those detailed illustrations of animals' houses have really stuck with me. I had the opportunity to paint a couple of spreads like that for The Barefoot Book of Children, and they were such fun to do.
QUOTED: "great read."
Edge, Christopher, illustrated by David Dean
Black Hole Cinema Club
Nosy Crow, 2024, 256pp,
[pounds sterling]7.99, 9781839942730
Science Fiction. Adventure. Black Holes
Lucas, Ash, Finn, Caitlin, and Maya are members of the Black Hole Cinema Club, which gains them exclusive screenings of all the best cult films. But the latest screening is in 4Di, promising a truly interactive experience. Pulled into another reality, they find themselves playing different roles, battling to save the Earth over and over again. Will they ever escape? Is it just a story, or something real? A very immersive read packed with action and thrills and fascinating ideas that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Another great read from Christopher Edge, for readers of 9+.
Ms. Jo Sennitt
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Sennitt, Jo. "Black Hole Cinema Club." School Librarian, vol. 72, no. 2, summer 2024, p. 47. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800697461/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7c8efa48. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.
QUOTED: "This page-turner with touching character moments makes a fun read."
The Mystery of Locked Rooms. By Lindsay Currie. Illus. by David Dean. Apr. 2024. 256p. Sourcebooks/Young Readers, $16.99 (9781728259536). Gr. 4-6.
Twelve-year-old Sarah never really fit in. That is, until she met West and Hannah, the other members of her best-friend group known as the Deltas. Their love of math and escape rooms drew them together, and when Sarah finds out her home is being foreclosed on and she'll have to move away from the only people who've ever understood her, she hopes their shared skills can bail her family out. How? There's a local legend of a treasure hidden in an abandoned funhouse, and Sarah sees that treasure as the answer to all her family's problems. Currie has a light touch with heavy issues, such as coping with a parent who has a chronic illness and financial instability, while also exploring problems such as personal insecurity and the strength needed to be honest and vulnerable with the people you care about. This page-turner with touching character moments makes a fun read for anyone who enjoys puzzle solving, escape rooms, and books centered around the power of friendship.--Mia P. Manansala
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Manansala, Mia P. "The Mystery of Locked Rooms." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2024, pp. 66+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A783436517/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f30bdd9d. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.
QUOTED: "Brisk pacing and a fully realized setting by Woltz ... paired with animated illustrations by Dean round out this fervent story."
My Especially Weird Week with Tess
Anna Woltz, trans, from the Dutch by David Colmer, illus. by David Dean. Rock the Boat, $9.99 paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-86154-298-7 On the firsr day of his family vacation on Texel Island, 11-year-old Sam meets 12-year-old local Tess, who becomes his intrepid and immediate confidante. Tess is privately grappling with her own stressors; her single mother has shared very little about Tess's father over the years, so Tess takes matters into her own hands by not only finding out who her dad is, but successfully luring him and his girlfriend to the island by pretending they won a free week at Tess's mom's vacation cottage. Keeping her true identity secret, Tess poses as an unrelated, curious tween and slowly connects with her dad. Sam, meanwhile, wrestles with an increasingly prevalent fear of a loved one's death and attempts to prepare himself for the eventuality by spending less time with family. Tess's conflicted feelings about her father and Sam's preoccupation with death's realities are deftly handled, and Sam's relationships with his family, particularly his brother, are realistically flawed and filled with love. Brisk pacing and a fully realized setting by Woltz (Talking to Alaska) paired with animated illustrations by Dean round out this fervent story of friendship and family. Characters read as white. Ages 10-14. (May)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"My Especially Weird Week with Tess." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 14, 3 Apr. 2023, pp. 68+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A746558232/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2b15aa51. Accessed 25 Jan. 2025.