So it was a no-brainer to combine the two and stage a drawing competition for young Sun-Herald readers.

Shakespeare asked the youngsters to send him line drawings of their pet or a favourite animal – the lucky winners would have their work coloured by the award-winning artist.

Nearly 250 youngsters responded to the call.

"I was blown away by the response," John says. "They were all so beautiful. It was a very hard choice to pick the winners. Heartbreaking in fact."

In the end, he could barely separate his two favourite drawings in the youngest category.

"In the youngest age, I was so torn between two that I had to award a 'highly commended'," he says.

Five-year-old Lachlan Gordon from Kanahooka and Sienna Burrell of Cronulla visited John at his legendary messy desk at the Sun-Herald's offices to collect their "finished" work.

"The look on the kids' faces when they saw the drawings was just priceless," John says. "They were so excited and so were their parents."

The other winner was Olivia Jacobs, 11, from Woonona. Keseah Bell, 3, from Forster was awarded a "highly commended" for her budgie.