Danny – thank you for taking the time to chat with StoryBox Hub. Firstly, congratulations on your recent CBCA Shortlisting for ‘The Truck Cat’. We can’t wait to hear more about it today…

Firstly, let’s start with what do you enjoy most about illustrating picture books?

I’ve really grown to enjoy the process of telling a story through pictures. I think many would imagine the illustrating process to involve someone sitting at a desk, painting or drawing an image until it was finished and then moving onto the next one. This is partly true, but there is a lot of planning that happens before this stage. And this is the part that I probably enjoy the most - working out the best way to help convey the narrative. It’s the most collaborative part of the process too.

The Truck Cat explores themes of migration, belonging, and resilience. How did you approach visually representing these ideas?

These are important themes, though my approach was to focus primarily on the relationship between Tinka and Yacoub, as well as determining how best to help convey the story. I knew that if I got those things right then everything else would hopefully fall into place. Deb explores these themes in a very subtle way through the text, and in a similar way I didn’t want to be too heavy handed with my images. There are small cues such as the representations of the characters – their tanned skin and dark hair, as well as the depiction of Yacoub’s Nena, and the food that Mari shares with Yacoub. These are small clues that the reader can piece together to gather an overall picture of the story and its themes.

Tinka the cat has such a strong presence in the story. How did you develop Tinka’s look and personality through your illustrations?

I started by gathering some reference. Thankfully there’s no shortage of cat photos online. I then did a lot of quick sketches of cats – sitting, walking, jumping, sleeping etc. I don’t tend to draw cats often, so I needed to practice and get a feel for how they look. Sometimes it’s the subtle things that bring out a character’s personality – the tilt of a head, the angle of an ear or eyebrow. Once I start drawing up the roughs for each page that’s when the characters begin to take on a life of their own. Initially I drew Tinka as a black and white cat, but dark colours can sometimes make it hard to show detail and subtle expression. Instead, I settled for the soft, warm brown stripe that you see in the book.

What medium did you use for the illustrations? Was there a particular artistic style or technique you wanted to highlight in this book?

The illustrations are digital – made on my computer using Photoshop. This is how I do most of my work these days. In the past I’d paint my picture book illustrations using acrylics, but the computer offers more flexibility and makes the process a little quicker. I think I was looking at a lot Bob Graham’s work at the time. I really like the softness of his images and wanted to try and introduce some of that feeling into my work. I also used panels on a number of the spreads – breaking the image up into a series of smaller events. This particularly helped when I had to visually depict the passage of time.

You’ve illustrated many beloved picture books. How does your approach change from book to book?

I think I approach each book in a similar way – following a similar process. But obviously each manuscript that I work on is different and so at times my style may vary a little to better suit the feel of the story. I think I learn something new with each book that I work on, so I try and apply what I’ve learnt to each subsequent book.

With ‘The Truck Cat’ being the 2025 National Simultaneous Storytime book, how does it feel to know that children all across Australia will be reading and engaging with your illustrations at the same time?

That’s really hard to comprehend. It’s quite overwhelming actually. Books are made to be read and it’s always a thrill when you meet someone who has enjoyed your books, but NSS takes that to another level. It’s such a great initiative. As someone who didn’t enjoy reading as a kid, I can see how important and engaging programs like this are.

What do you hope young readers will take away from ‘The Truck Cat’ - both from the story and your illustrations?

Now more than ever I think the world needs more empathy. In The Truck Cat we see the world through the eyes of Tinka, a cat, and Yacoub, a quiet stranger, as

they navigate an unfamiliar landscape. Being able to walk in someone else’s shoes is a skill that we all continue to learn, and stories can often help to guide us on that path. And on a simpler level, illustrated stories enable both readers and those less confident readers to enjoy stories and develop a love of books.

Thanks Danny. Join us to enjoy Danny's wonderful story, The Truck Cat, on 21st May as part of ALIA's 25th National Simultaneous Storytime. Register here!