DALY, Nicholas 1946-

(Niki Daly)

PERSONAL: Born June 13, 1946, in Cape Town, South Africa; son of George (a carpenter) and Sarah (Mathusen) Daly; married Judith Mary Kenny (an artist), July 7, 1973; children: Joseph, Leo. Education: Cape Town Technikon, diploma, 1970.

ADDRESSES: Home and Office—36 Strubens Road, Cape Town, South Africa. Agent—Laura Cecil, 17 Alwyne Villas, London N1 2HG, England. E-mail— inkman@iafrica.com.

CAREER: Children's book author and illustrator. CBS Record Company, London, England, singer and song-writer, 1971-73; junior art director at advertising agencies in Cape Town, South Africa, and London, England, 1973-75; freelance illustrator, 1975-79; East Ham Technical College, London, England, graphics teacher, 1976-79; Stellenbosch University, South Africa, head of design department, 1983-89. Songololo Books, Cape Town, South Africa, director, 1989-93.

MEMBER: Association of Illustrators (London).

AWARDS, HONORS: Award for illustration from British Arts Council/Provincial Booksellers, 1978; Parents' Choice Book Award for Literature, 1986, for The Little Girl Who Lived down the Road, and 1999, for Bravo, Zan Angelo!; Horn Book Honor List, 1987, and Katrien Harries Award for illustration (South Africa), both for Not So Fast, Songololo; inclusion in New York Times Ten Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year, 1995, and Anne Izard Story Teller's Choice Award, 1996, both for Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky; International Board on Books for Young People Honors Award for illustration for All the Magic in the World and One Round Moon and a Star for Me.

WRITINGS:

under name niki daly; self-illustrated

The Little Girl Who Lived down the Road, Collins (London, England), 1978.

Vim the Rag Mouse, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1979.

Joseph's Other Red Sock, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1982.

Leo's Christmas Surprise, Gollancz (London, England), 1983.

Ben's Gingerbread Man, Walker Books (London, England), 1985.

Teddy's Ear, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1985.

Monsters Are Like That, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1985.

Just Like Archie, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1986.

Look at Me!, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1986.

Not So Fast, Songololo, Gollancz (London, England), 1985, Atheneum (New York, NY), 1986.

Thank You Henrietta, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1986.

(Co author) Ashraf of Africa, Songololo Books (Cape Town, South Africa), 1990.

Mama, Papa, and Baby Joe, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1991.

Papa's Lucky Shadow, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Ingrid Mennen) Somewhere in Africa, illustrated by Nicolaas Maritz, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.

Mary Malloy and the Baby Who Wouldn't Sleep, Western Publishing (Racine, WI), 1993.

My Dad: Stories and Pictures, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Wendy Hartmann) The Dinosaurs Are Back and It's All Your Fault, Edward!, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Bravo, Zan Angelo!: A Commedia dell'Arte, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1998.

Jamela's Dress, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1999.

The Boy on the Beach, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1999.

What's Cooking, Jamela?, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2001.

Old Bob's Brown Bear, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2002.

Once upon a Time, Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003.

illustrator

Kathleen Hersom, Maybe It's a Tiger, Macmillan (London, England), 1981.

Louis Baum, I Want to See the Moon, Bodley Head (London, England), 1984, Overlook Press (New York, NY), 1989.

Ruth Craft, The Day of the Rainbow, Viking Kestrel (New York, NY), 1989.

Reviva Schermbrucker, Charlie's House, Viking (New York, NY), 1991.

Wendy Hartmann, All the Magic in the World, Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.

Ingrid Mennen, One Round Moon and a Star for Me,

Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Cari Best, Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Gus Ferguson, The Herding of the Snail: An Adaptation in Verse, Firfield Pamphlet Press (Cape Town, South Africa), 1995.

The Dancer, Human & Rousseau, 1996.

Dinah M. Mbanze, The Magic Pot: Three African Tales, Kwela Books (Cape Town, South Africa), 1999.

The Berry Basket: Three African Tales, Kwela Books (Cape Town, South Africa), 1999.

Christopher Gregorowski, Fly, Eagle, Fly!: An African Fable, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Philip Wells, Daddy Island, Barefoot Books (New York, NY), 2001.

Pat Thomson, The Squeaky, Creaky Bed, Random House Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Louise Borden, The Greatest Skating Race: A WW II Story from the Netherlands, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2004.

ADAPTATIONS: Not So Fast, Songololo was adapted as a videotape by Weston Woods, 1990.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The picture book Pa's Perfect Pizza, and further titles about Pa Bombelly for Trans-world Books.

SIDELIGHTS: Nicholas "Niki" Daly first became involved in drawing by using pencil stubs handed down from an uncle who painted watercolor pictures. Born in South Africa, Daly traveled to London at the age of twenty-four in order to pursue a career in singing and songwriting. However, economic difficulties ended his music career after two years, and Daly found work as a commercial artist. Today, he is known for illustrations of children's books that depict incidents—sometimes realistically and at other times fantastically—from everyday life. Daly's titles include Mary Malloy and the Baby Who Wouldn't Sleep, Old Bob's Brown Bear, and Jamela's Dress, the last part of a series featuring a young girl who lives in a blacks-only township in Daly's native South Africa.

Daly once told CA: "My interest in illustrating for children started after I settled in London. My first book, The Little Girl Who Lived down the Road, was written by myself simply as an excuse to draw the pictures after realizing that a completed product was more useful to a publisher than trying an unknown illustrator on the work of an established writer. I was very encouraged by the favorable reviews I received concerning the writing of The Little Girl Who Lived down the Road—which spurred me on to further books." Daly counts among his artistic influcences Maurice Sendak, Edward Ardizonne, Harold Jones, John Tenniel, and Ernest Shepard. "As a writer/illustrator, I'm interested in themes that evolve around young children … as they play …, " Daly added. "I'm fascinated by the dual reality children have when playing games."

Shortly after Daly's first son, Joseph, was born, the family returned to South Africa. Dealing with the government's racist apartheid policies proved difficult for a children's book author/illustrator, but as South Africa continues to integrate blacks and whites Daly has been able to freely write and illustrate stories relevant to children of both races. Daly has donated a portion of his earnings from books sold in the United States to South African charities, among them the organization READ, which established school lending libraries in South Africa's black townships.

Not So Fast, Songololo was inspired by watching a very young boy weaving his way through the crowded streets of Cape Town, South Africa, with his grandmother in tow. The image reminded Daly of his own youth and a fond memory of his loving and rather large-bodied grandmother. In the story a young black boy enjoys a special day as he gets to purchase a brand new pair of sneakers. Once on his feet, the boy wants to speed away through the sheer joy of owning new shoes. Daly received praise for both his story and illustrations, a Kirkus reviewer dubbing the book "lovely" and "appealing."

Based on an old folktale from Nigeria, Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky is one of several books by Daly that have generated both critical praise and an award. Here Daly recounts an ancient tale about the sun, portrayed as a young black man, and the moon, a young woman. Both Sun and Moon at first live together on earth. Moon is a homebody, but Sun likes to travel about and explore. Sun soon becomes fascinated with the sea and invites Sea to come home with him. Moon becomes distressed when the waters of the sea fill the couple's house, and ultimately Sun and Moon both move to the sky to live out their now-separate fates. Nancy B. Cardozo, writing for the New York Times Book Review, explained that the story is not, as it might first appear, a fable about a husband and wife, but rather about a sister and brother. "Think growing up, a sister's sadness at her brother's first romance," Cardozo wrote, calling Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky "a treat … with a broad appeal." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly also enjoyed Daly's tale, noting that it provides "a wonderful balance of high energy and refined aesthetics."

Bravo, Zan Angelo! was described as a "good natured story about an unusual subject—eighteenth-century street theater," by Booklist reviewer Michael Cart. Daly's 1998 picture book introduces a crotchety old grandfather and his young grandson who wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps by mastering the art of clowning. While the storyline is somewhat sparse, according to Mary Simons in the New York Times, Daly's illustrations "carry the story farther than words can." A young good-natured girl is the focus of Jamela's Dress and What's Cooking, Jamela? as Daly introduces readers to everyday life in a black South African township. The books "capture Jamela's dynamic world," in which "post-apartheid visual details are dramatic," noted Rochman in a Booklist review, drawing attention to the pleasant, comfortable home life enjoyed by Daly's spunky young protagonist. Calling the story "carefully crafted," a Kirkus contributor had special praise for Jamela, noting that in What's Cooking, Jamela? "she's mischievous, boisterous, loving, generous, worried, determined, even deviant….This little girl is a charmer and so is her story."

Other books by Daly include Old Bob's Brown Bear, which finds an old man expressing a childhood wish to own a soft brown teddy bear. After he gets his wish, granddaughter Emma offers to take care of the teddy temporarily … only temporarily stretches into several years, and Bob finally sees teddy returned well worn and well loved. Daly's soft watercolor illustrations "capture all of the moments of child and bear … as well as the tender relationship between grandfather and granddaughter," noted a Kirkus contributor, while in Booklist Connie Fletcher maintained that "a big part of the fun here are the pictures." Carol Ann Wilson praised in particular the book's "multidimensional characters" in her School Library Journal review, describing Bob as "a pragmatic adult with a child's sensibility." Once upon a Time finds first-grader Sari learning to conquer her fears and develop her imagination through reading with the help of a caring aunt. Daly "once again captures a moment in a South African childhood and makes it universal with a simple story and beautiful watercolor illustrations," noted a contributor to Kirkus Reviews.

In addition to his own stories, Daly has also illustrated the writing of several authors. His illustrations for Wendy Hartman's All the Magic in the World depict a girl named Lena, who follows a group of older children around her neighborhood until they begin teasing her. Coming to her rescue is a man named Joseph, who owns a tin box in which he places pieces of string, old bottle caps, and other odds and ends. By using his imagination and thus encouraging Lena to do the same, Joseph helps Lena adjust her sense of self in order to gain confidence. Hanna B. Zeiger praised Daly's art in Horn Book, describing his illustrations as "engaging and full of life." Equally successful has been his collaboration with author Ingrid Mennen. His illustrations for Mennen's One Round Moon and a Star for Me, which won the International Board on Books for Young People Honors Award for illustration, depict Lesotho, a mountainous African country. "Daly's dancing double-page watercolors are filled with light and feeling," Rochman wrote in Booklist, once again in praise of Daly's art.

As a white author who writes many books for black children, Daly once commented: "If children's writers and illustrators can overcome laws of science and make pigs fly, then we can overcome anything our imagination will allow and produce relevant and entertaining books for all children. This is proven already by the way in which children's books can travel and retain their meaning and charm. Of course, not all books, but I think all those which work on a universal truth and emotion, common maybe to children of all races."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, May 15, 1992, Nancy McCray, audio-visual review of Not So Fast, Songololo, p. 1694; February 15, 1994, Hazel Rochman, review of One Round Moon and a Star for Me, p. 1093; August, 1995, Janice Del Negro, review of Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, p. 1951; September 1, 1995, Linda Ward-Callaghan, review of Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me, p. 82; June 1, 1997, Lauren Peterson, review of The Dinosaurs Are Back and It's All Your Fault, Edward!, p. 1717; August, 1998, Michael Cart, review of Bravo, Zan Angelo!, p. 2014; May 15, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of The Boy on the Beach, p. 1702; January 1, 2000, Michael Cart, review of Fly, Eagle, Fly!, p. 931; February 15, 2000, review of Jamela's Dress, p. 1109; November 1, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of What's Cooking, Jamela?, p. 482; November 15, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Daddy Island, p. 585; October 1, 2002, Connie Fletcher, review of Old Bob's Brown Bear, p. 334.

Horn Book, November-December, 1993, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of All the Magic in the World, p. 732; July, 1999, review of Jamela's Dress, p. 453; May-June, 2003, Susan P. Bloom, review of Once upon a Time, p. 327.

Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 1986, review of Not So Fast, Songololo, pp. 468-469; September 15, 2001, review of What's Cooking, Jamela?, p. 1356; October 1, 2002, review of Old Bob's Brown Bear, p. 1466; January 1, 2003, review of Once upon a Time, p. 59.

New York Times, December 6, 1998, Mary Simons, review of Bravo, Zan Angelo!, p. 78.

New York Times Book Review, June 1, 1986, p. 48; November 5, 1995, Nancy B. Cardozo, review of Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, p. 31.

Publishers Weekly, July 19, 1993, review of All the Magic in the World, p. 254; August 23, 1993, review of Mary Malloy and the Baby Who Wouldn't Sleep, p. 68; May 15, 1995, review of Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky, p. 72; May 10, 1999, review of The Boy on the Beach, p. 66; January 31, 2000, review of Fly, Eagle, Fly!, p. 103; October 15, 2001, review of Jamela's New Dress, p. 73; January 13, 2003, review of Once upon a Time, p. 59.

School Library Journal, September, 1994, Stephen del Vecchio, review of One Round Moon and a Star for Me, p. 190; June, 1995, Kate McClelland, review of My Dad, pp. 79-80; October, 1995, Virginia Opocensky, review of Red Light, Green Light, Mama and Me, p. 96; June, 1997, Susan Garland, review of The Dinosaurs Are Back and It's All Your Fault, Edward!, p. 74; September, 1998, Carol Ann Wilson, review of Bravo, Zan Angelo!, pp. 165-166; June, 1999, Kate McClelland, review of The Boy on the Beach, p. 92; August, 1999, Joan Zaleski, review of Jamela's Dress, p. 132; October, 2001, review of What's Cooking, Jamela?, p. 64; March 20, 2000, review of The Dinosaurs Are Back and It's All Your Fault, Edward!,, p. 95; November, 2002, Carol Ann Wilson, review of Old Bob's Brown Bear, p. 121; May, 2003, Wendy Lukehart, review of Once upon a Time, p. 112.

Times Literary Supplement, October 25, 1985, p. 1218.

online

Illustrators Portfolio,http://www.illustrators.co.za/ (October 17, 2002), "Interview with Niki Daly".*