Author pens "unashamedly retro" children's book
11 Mar 2011
Thomas Burton spent one year finding the right artist to illustrate Bluey and Dingo's Outback Adventure
A businessman from Kensington has written a children's book harking back to the "golden era" of bedtime stories.
Thomas Burton, 42, was inspired to pen Bluey and Dingo's Outback Adventure due to what he identified as a "lack" of quality illustrated children's books for kids today.
The author drew on the bedtime stories his father used to tell him as a boy and spent nearly a year finding an artist who would "truly bring to life" the adventure.
Now Thomas, the managing director of an overseas recruitment agency, hopes to crack the youth market with the "unashamedly retro" book, which has just been released.
Speaking yesterday, Thomas said: "I've always enjoyed children's books but in many cases it seems there's no real care involved in their making.
"As a small boy I would read beautifully illustrated stories that would bring the characters to life and light up my imagination.
"Now the vast majority seems to feature computer-generated artwork that lacks the tone and depth of hand-drawn art. It just seems flat and Photoshopped."
Bluey and Dingo's Outback Adventure follows the adventures of an Australian farmer who travels into the desert with his pet dog, Dingo.
When their Jeep breaks down they are left stranded in the middle of nowhere. They then have to contend with snakes and other wildlife while trying to find a way home.
"It's based on a series of stories my dad, Robin, used to tell me and my brother as little boys," said Thomas, who has aimed the book at five-year-olds.
"He made up all the characters, settings and adventures and I still have fond memories of listening to him telling us the stories, wondering what would happen next."
Thomas, who has published the book through AuthorHouse, says he had been meaning to put pen to paper for many years but it was the recession that finally enabled him to begin work on it last summer.
With a temporary downturn in business at his firm he found "a window of opportunity" to write the story and find "the perfect" artist to provide the illustrations.
Half of the 40-page book is dedicated to vivid, full-colour drawings of Bluey and Dingo in the Australian outback, created by American artist Rob Peters.
Thomas says it was a "painstaking" process to find Peters but feels his worldwide search has been "worth all the effort".
He said: "I looked to many different artists but Rob was the one who really seemed to click with what I wanted to achieve.
"He's incredibly talented but, more importantly, has a certain old-fashioned charm to his work which catches the eye. I couldn't have asked for a better artist."
Though the artwork may recall a different era, Thomas's multimedia support for the book is very much of the 21st-Century.
Along with the book, there is a "vibrant" website - www.blueyanddingo.com - which will allow children and parents to "enrich" their reading experience, a Facebook page and special making-of videos on YouTube.
Thomas added: "Times have changed and now families can interact with their favourite characters in a way not possible when I was a child.
"Even so, the heart of a good story is timeless. My dad passed Bluey and Dingo down to me over and now I'm passing it on to a new generation who I hope will like it just as much as I did."
Bluey and Dingo's Outback Adventure is available to buy, priced £6.99. It is also available as a digital download for Amazon's Kindle, the Sony eReader and Apple's iPad. A range of merchandise featuring the characters is also available. To place an order or for more information, visit: www.blueyanddingo.com
ISBN: 9781456770068
By Jason Taylors
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