Kady MacDonald Denton is an author and illustrator of books for children.
She lives with her husband in Peterborough, Ontario. Their children are grown but often visit to say hello. Kady works at the top of the tall yellow brick house, in an attic studio that has lots of room and a skylight.
Her books have won awards, are translated into many languages, and are read by children around the world.
"Denton's artwork, created with watercolors and ink, reflects the tone of the writing while creating nearly human-looking, dressed-animal
characters in a series of expressive, captivating illustrations." —Booklist
"Together, the duo embodies the way a best bud can both challenge and inspire." —Publishers Weekly
Translated into Complex Chinese, Dutch and Italian
"Another appealing adventure for this delightful duo, just right for a Christmas Eve storytime, perhaps enjoyed with a plate of pickles." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Translated into Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Frisian and Japanese
"Fans of A Visitor for Bear will delight in this second offering.... Energetic ink-and-watercolor illustrations brim with humor while firmly establishing Mouse and Bear as friends new readers will enjoy visiting time and again." —Kirkus Reviews
"Denton (A Visitor For Bear) wonderfully conveys the story's impishness, emotional subtleties, and familial affections. Just watching the queen strut her stuff is worth the price alone." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
New York Times bestseller;
2009 Golden Kite Award;
E.B. White Read Aloud Award;
Wanda Gág Book Award Honor Book;
Amazon.com's Best Picture Book of 2008;
Toronto Public Library "First and Best" List;
Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books for Kids and Teens, 2010
Translated into Complex Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, German, Italian, Japanese and Slovenian
"A surefire storytime hit, A Visitor for Bear won't wear out its welcome." —The Horn Book Magazine
"Kids will giggle each time the mouse reappears and grin with satisfaction when big and little become friends." —Kirkus Reviews
Exhibits of illustration work
2008: The Illustrator as Artist (solo show), Thunder Bay Art Gallery
Participant in numerous group shows including:
1992 and 2001: CANSCAIP cross-Canada travelling exhibit
1992: Books from Afar, Rome
1990: Canada at Bologna
1990: Picture Books: A Process (solo show), Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba and Visual Arts Manitoba tour
2008 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize
"Denton is in fine, free-wheeling form. She takes the rhyme 'I wished so hard/ To sail the sea/ That the sea/ Sailed right to me!' as a launch point, and the boy's wading pool metamorphoses as a slowly encroaching wave sweeps the initially dubious, then delighted, young fellow and his dog off their feet. The subsequent pages glow with iridescent color and wry details." —Publishers Weekly
Translated into Arabic, French, Italian and Japanese
"A worthy companion to Zolotow's equally child-centered classic Over and Over (1957) and [a] fresh new take on the passage of time." —Booklist (starred review)
"The expressive two-colour drawings of Kady MacDonald Denton enhance Little's kindly empathetic humour with their own distinctive vision of family life. Together they make a book about giving that is itself an excellent gift." —Quill & Quire
IBBY Canada Outstanding Canadian Picture Book; ALA Booklist Best of 2003 Editor's Choice recipient
"Denton's illustrations are gentle cartoons in soft pastels that turn dark and angry in the fantasy sequences — visual expressions of the complex dark emotions Amber feels but that the text leaves unspoken.... It is, quite simply, an excellent picture book." —Canadian Children's Literature
2001
Elephant Child, written by Mary Ellis
In the Light of the Moon and Other Bedtime Stories, written by Sam McBratney
Translated into Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Italian and Persian
1998 Governor General's Award for Children's Literature — Illustration; 1999 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award; 1999 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award
One of eleven books chosen to be part of Canada's official gift to newborn Prince George of Cambridge in July 2013
"A block-party of a book with something wild on every corner." —Chatelaine
