The 169-Storey Treehouse is the explosive final adventure in the phenomenal Treehouse series by Australia’s most popular children’s author and illustrator Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton.
Good Reading for Kids chatted to Andy Griffiths about the inspiration behind the treehouse fueled adventure!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Andy and Terry have built their biggest and most astonishing treehouse yet! It has everything they – and you – could wish for, including an electric pony stable, a Santa Land, a NOISY level, a kangaroo-riding range, a WHATEVER-WEATHER-YOU-WANT dome, a 100 per cent edible gingerbread house and a hall of funhouse mirrors.
But Anti-Andy, Terrible-Terry and Junkyard-Jill, their doppelgangers, are trapped in one of the mirrors – and they want out. Well, what are you waiting for? Come on up!
Age Guide 6+
Q&A with Andy Griffiths
What’s new for Andy and Terry in your latest book?
Well, we’ve got quite a lot going on in this one. It all starts when Terry leaves the door to the WHATEVER-WEATHER-YOU-WANT DOME open and a whole lot of wild weather gets out. Meanwhile the school truancy officer is trying to catch us and make us go to school.
And our evil twins Anti-Andy, Terrible Terry and Junkyard Jill escape from the doppelganger mirror to wreak havoc in the treehouse. And if that’s not already more than enough Mr Big Nose is yelling at us to get our book written … OR ELSE.
What can you tell us about the treehouse in your latest novel?
Well, apart from the weather dome and the hall of funhouse mirrors it also has a kangaroo-riding range, a paper-plane research and development facility, a gingerbread house, a monster level and a Santa Land where it’s Christmas all year round. Well, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this dumb interview and come on up and join us!
What’s your favourite invention in the treehouse?
Hmmmm … that’s a tough one. Maybe it’s our new potato-powered translation transmitter, which enables you to talk to anyone or anything no matter whether they are animals, vegetables or minerals. Have you ever talked to a rock?
Well you can with our new PPTT … but you will have to supply your own potatoes because we keep running out. (There are just so many things to talk to!)
What was your favourite part of writing this book?
Writing the words, THE END. Well, that was fun because it took us a whole 12 months to write the book, but maybe my favourite part was writing the whole ending sequence. I can’t tell you what it is because that would spoil it for it for you, but trust me, it’s the best ending to any book ever!
Andy Griffiths (right) and Terry Denton (left)
This is the last book in the Treehouse series – how does it feel saying goodbye?
Terry, Jill and I have mixed feelings. We’ve spent the last 13 years creating Treehouse books and we’ve loved – and laughed through – every silly chapter, nutty character and unlikely event. But just as it’s important to know how to start a story, it’s also important to know when to end it and we just felt it was time to let the fictional Andy, Terry and Jill move on and have their own adventures without us.
So we’re a little bit sad, but at the same time, really happy and proud that we managed to write 13 very silly books!
What are you working on next?
A complete guide to every character, every level and every invention in the treehouse. It’s called ‘Who’s who and what’s where in the treehouse’ and will be published November 2023.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors. He and illustrator Terry Denton have collaborated on more than 33 bestselling books since their first title, Just Tricking, was published in 1997.
In Australia, Andy and Terry’s books have sold over 10 million copies, won 80 children’s choice awards and 10 Australian Book Industry Awards—including Book of the Year for The 52-Storey Treehouse in 2015.
Their much-loved Treehouse Series has been embraced by children around the world and is now published in more than 35 countries. Five of the books in the series have been adapted for the stage and have all had sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera house, as well as highly successful seasons in the Netherlands, New Zealand and America.
Andy is a passionate advocate for literacy and in 2015 was awarded the Dromkeen Medal to honour his outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature. He is also an ambassador for both The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Pyjama Foundation.
