Graeme Base
Encyclopedia
Graeme Rowland Base is an Australian author and artist of picture books. He is perhaps best known for his second book, Animalia
published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour
which was released in 1989.
He was born in Amersham
, England but moved to Australia with his family at the age of eight and has lived here ever since. He attended Box Hill High School
and Melbourne High School in Melbourne, and then studied a Diploma of Art (Graphic Design) for three years at Swinburne University of Technology
at Prahran
.
He worked in advertising for two years and then began illustrating children's books, gradually moving to authoring them as well. His first book, My Grandma lived in Gooligulch, was accepted by the first publisher he sent it to.
Base resides in Melbourne with his wife Robyn and has three children.
An exhibition was created based on The Waterhole and displayed at the National Museum of Australia
.
Animalia (book)
Animalia is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was published in 1986.Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet...
published in 1986, and third book The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (book)
The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is an Award winning illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. In it, Horace the Elephant holds a party for his eleventh birthday, to which he invites his ten best friends to play eleven games and share in a feast that he has prepared...
which was released in 1989.
He was born in Amersham
Amersham
Amersham is a market town and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England, 27 miles north west of London, in the Chiltern Hills. It is part of the London commuter belt....
, England but moved to Australia with his family at the age of eight and has lived here ever since. He attended Box Hill High School
Box Hill High School
Box Hill High School is a co-educational public secondary school located on the corner of Middleborough and Whitehorse Roads in the eastern suburb of Box Hill in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and Melbourne High School in Melbourne, and then studied a Diploma of Art (Graphic Design) for three years at Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
at Prahran
Prahran, Victoria
Prahran , also known colloquially as "Pran", is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Prahran had a population of 10,651. It is a part of Melbourne with...
.
He worked in advertising for two years and then began illustrating children's books, gradually moving to authoring them as well. His first book, My Grandma lived in Gooligulch, was accepted by the first publisher he sent it to.
Base resides in Melbourne with his wife Robyn and has three children.
Notable works
- My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch (1983)
- AnimaliaAnimalia (book)Animalia is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was published in 1986.Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet...
(1986) - JabberwockyJabberwocky"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
(words by Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
) (1987) - The Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour (book)The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is an Award winning illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. In it, Horace the Elephant holds a party for his eleventh birthday, to which he invites his ten best friends to play eleven games and share in a feast that he has prepared...
(1989) - The Sign of the SeahorseThe Sign of the SeahorseThe Sign of the Seahorse is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was published in 1992. Originally designed by Base to become a narrated concert, the story is composed of two acts, each owning the traditional components of high drama and romance, a hero and villain, and an eventual...
(1992) - The Discovery of Dragons (1996)
- The Worst Band In The UniverseThe Worst Band In The UniverseThe Worst Band In The Universe is a science fiction children's book written and illustrated by Graeme Base published in 1999 by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.. The book comes with a CD containing music based on a music competition that occurs in the middle of the story...
(1999) - The Water Hole (2001)
- Truck DogsTruck DogsTruck Dogs: A Novel in Four Bites is a children's adventure/science fiction novel by Australian author Graeme Base, who is famous for his large picture books such as Animalia. It was published in 2003 and nominated for a CBCA 2004 Book of the Year for younger readers...
(2003) - Jungle Drums (2004)
- Uno's GardenUno's GardenUno's Garden is a picture book written and illustrated by Australian children's author Graeme Base. The story features themes of environmental degradation, conservation of nature and habitat, and extinction. It also features arithmetic, and at the back of the book there are instructions for...
(2006) - The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed(2007)
- Enigma (2008)
- Watts, J. The Art of Graeme Base (2008)
- The Legend of the Golden SnailThe Legend of the Golden SnailThe Legend of the Golden Snail is the 14th children's book written and illustrated by author Graeme Base. It was published in 2010, by a collaboration of Penguin Books and Viking...
(2010)
An exhibition was created based on The Waterhole and displayed at the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
.
Adaptations of Base's works
- The Sign of the SeahorseThe Sign of the SeahorseThe Sign of the Seahorse is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was published in 1992. Originally designed by Base to become a narrated concert, the story is composed of two acts, each owning the traditional components of high drama and romance, a hero and villain, and an eventual...
was adapted as an opera with the Melbourne Symphony OrchestraMelbourne Symphony OrchestraThe Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
in 2001. - My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch was adapted as a play by Gooligulch Productions. The play premiered at the Chookahs! Kids Festival (Melbourne) in 2006 and is touring country areas in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
- AnimaliaAnimalia (book)Animalia is an illustrated children's book by Graeme Base. It was published in 1986.Animalia is an alliterative alphabet book and contains twenty-six illustrations, one for each letter of the alphabet...
has been made into a television series (AnimaliaAnimalia (TV series)Animalia is an Australian children's television series based on the 1986 picture book of the same name by illustrator Graeme Base.-Development:...
), and also is one of the most sold books around the world. Base was an executive producer for the series, and also composed the opening theme music with Yuri Worontschak. - Animalia was made into an iPhone and iPad app in 2010. Published on the iTunes app store by AppBooks and produced by The Base Factory. An iPhone app based on Jungle Drums was released by Inyerpocket in 2008.
External links
- Graeme Base Official Art Gallery website
- Author Profile at Penguin Australia, including list of Graeme Base's awards
- Trailer for the upcoming Animalia animated television series
- Video: Graeme Base discusses writing and illustrating children's books
- Graeme Base's You Tube Channel, including a demonstration of his Animalia iPad application and the Augmented Reality feature of The Legend of the Golden Snail