Year 9: Art and Design

Graeme Base

*Complete this task using the following website: www.graemebase.com.

*Complete all answers using FULL sentences

1. What was Graeme Base’s first book?

- Graeme Base’s first book was the detailed alphabet book Animalia that
received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986.
2. What book titles have been adapted into musicals?
- Between the Sea and Sky is one of Graeme’s book that have been adapted
into musical.
3. List Graeme’s 15 published books.
- Here are the 15 published book of Graeme:
Animalia, The Eleventh Hour, The Water Hole, Uno’s Garden, The Sign of the
Seahorse, Jungle Drums, Enigma: A magical Mystery, The legend of the
Golden Snail, The Discovery of Dragons, Eye to Eye, Little Elephants, Truck
Dogs, The Tree, Moonfish, The Last King of Angkor Wat.
4. Choose one of Graeme’s picture story books and write a review including
the following information:
 A colored photo of the front cover
 Title of the book and its publication date
 Synopsis
 What is the ‘message’ in this book. EG: educational/moral/
 A colored photo of your favourite page in the book and write 150
words including the following information.
 *What is the subject matter in this illustration?
*How is TEXT used to tell the story. EG: are words part of the
imagery?/ Do the words rhyme?/is there a message in the text? EG:
puzzles/codes etc.
*What is unique about this illustration? Is it monotone/does it
feature a hidden message or imagery/are the main characters real or
fictional/are there special elements such as cut-outs or pop-ups?

Animalia is an illustrated children’s book by Graeme Base. It was originally published in

1986, followed by a tenth anniversary edition in 1996, and a 25th anniversary edition in
2012. Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for
each letter of the alphabet. Each illustration features an animal from the animal kingdom (A
is for alligator and armadillo, B is for butterfly etc.) along with a short poem utilizing the
letter of the page for many of the words.

The illustrations contain many other objects beginning with that letter that the reader
can try to identify. As an additional challenge, the author has hidden a picture of himself as
a child in every picture. The cover of the book is fascinating and beautifully illustrated. This
beautiful book contains thirteen small tales about those who live in harmony with Animalia,
kingdom of the animals. Each tale captures wisdom about the world we share with animals.
It has thousands of alphabetically arranged images and ideas to discover along the way,
from An Armoured Armadillo to Great Green Gorillas and Zany Zebra’s Zigzagging in Zinc
Zeppelins.