Animalia (book)

Last updated

Animalia
Animalia (book cover).jpg
Author Graeme Base
IllustratorGraeme Base
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Genre Picture books
Publisher Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication date
1986
Pages32
ISBN 0-810-91868-4

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. Over four million copies have been sold worldwide. [1] A special numbered and signed anniversary edition was also published in 1996, with an embossed gold jacket. [2]

Contents

Synopsis

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 (however, there are not necessarily "a thousand things, or maybe more", as the author states). As an additional challenge, the author has hidden a picture of himself as a child in every picture.

Julia MacRae Books published an Animalia colouring book in 2008. [3] H. N. Abrams also published a wall calendar colouring book version for children the same year. [4]

H. N. Abrams published The Animalia Wall Frieze, a fold-out over 26 feet in length, in which the author created new riddles for each letter. [5]

The Great American Puzzle Factory created a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle based on the book's cover. [6]

Adaptations

A television series was also created, based on the book, which airs in Canada. The Australian Children's Television Foundation released a teaching resource DVD-ROM in 2011 to accompany the TV series with teaching aids for classroom use. [7]

In 2010, The Base Factory and AppBooks released Animalia as an application for iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. [8]

Awards

Animalia won the Young Australian's Best Book Award in 1987 for Best Picture Story Book. [9]

The Children's Book Council of Australia designated Animalia a 1987 Picture Book of the Year: Honour Book. [10]

Kid's Own Australian Literature Awards named Animalia the 1988 Picture Book Winner. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Publishing</span> Firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books

Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and family-related entertainment products. The company had editorial offices in New York City and Los Angeles, California. Western Publishing became Golden Books Family Entertainment in 1996. As of 2013, Little Golden Books remains as an imprint of Penguin Random House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Sendak</span> American childrens book author and illustrator (1928–2012)

Maurice Bernard Sendak was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He became most widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was affected by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Sendak also wrote works such as In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and illustrated many works by other authors including the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik.

<i>Puddle Lane</i> English TV series or programme

Puddle Lane is a 1980s English pre-school children's television programme written by Rick Vanes with animated stories written by Sheila K. McCullagh, author of Tim and the Hidden People. A long series of early readers based on the stories was produced by Ladybird Books, also under the title Puddle Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravensburger</span> German game, toy and jigsaw puzzle company

Ravensburger AG is a German game and toy company, publishing house and market leader in the European jigsaw puzzle market.

Graeme Rowland Base is a British-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.

<i>The Eleventh Hour</i> (book) 1989 illustrated childrens book by Graeme Base

The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery is an 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. However, at the time they are to eat—11:00—they are startled to find that someone has already eaten all the food. They accuse each other until, finally, they're left puzzled as to who could have eaten it all. It is left up to the reader to solve the mystery, through careful analysis of the pictures on each page and the words in the story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Tan</span> Australian artist, writer and film maker (born 1973)

Shaun Tan is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for The Lost Thing, a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated include The Red Tree and The Arrival.

David Elliot is a New Zealand illustrator and author, known internationally for his contributions to the Redwall fantasy series by British author, Brian Jacques.

Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lists for public libraries. They worked together for 20 years until Janet's death from cancer in 1994. He wrote the books and she illustrated them. Allan Ahlberg has also written dozens of books with other illustrators.

Uno'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 several number games relating to the book. It also contains a game in the book where you have to find an amount of plants, animals, buildings and sometimes one snortelpig. All of the animals and plants featured in the book were invented by the author. Some of the animals included are the snortlepig, moopaloop, lumpybum, and frinklepod.

<i>Animalia</i> (TV series)  TV series or program

Animalia is an animated children's television series based on the 1986 picture book of the same name by illustrator Graeme Base. The series premiered on Network Ten in Australia on November 11, 2007, airing two seasons before ending on November 7, 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Browne (author)</span> British writer and illustrator

Anthony Edward Tudor Browne is a British writer and illustrator of children's books, primarily picture books. Browne has written or illustrated over fifty books, and received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000. From 2009 to 2011 he was Children's Laureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Thompson (writer)</span> Writer and illustrator of childrens books

Colin Edward Thompson is an English-Australian writer and illustrator of children's books. He has had over 70 works published and also draws pictures for jigsaw puzzles. In 2004, Thompson was awarded the Aurealis Award in the children's long fiction category for his novel How to Live Forever.

<i>Wheres Wally?</i> British series of childrens puzzle books

Where's Wally? is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Readers are challenged to find a character named Wally hidden in the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Freeman</span> Australian writer

Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for both adults and children. Most of her work is fantasy but she has also written mystery stories, science fiction, family dramas and non-fiction. Her first adult series, the Castings Trilogy is published globally by Orbit Books. She is best known in Australia for the junior novel Victor’s Quest and an associated series, the Floramonde books, and for The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop’s Early Years, which won the NSW Premier's History Prize in 2006.

Deborah Mary Niland is a New Zealand–born Australian artist, known as a writer and illustrator of children's books. Some of her most popular books include Annie's Chair, When The Wind Changed, Mulga Bill's Bicycle, and Chatterbox. In 2006 she won The Children's Book of the Year – Early Childhood, with her book Annie's Chair.

Christina "Tina" Matthews is a New Zealand author/illustrator and a puppetmaker who was born in Wellington and works in Sydney, Australia. She also played bass guitar in bands such as The Wide-Mouthed Frogs and The Crocodiles.

<i>Possum Magic</i> 1983 picture book by Mem Fox

Possum Magic is a 1983 children's picture book by Australian author Mem Fox, and illustrated by Julie Vivas. It concerns a young female possum, named Hush, who becomes invisible and has a number of adventures. In 2001, a film was made by the American company Weston Woods and narrated by the author.

<i>Wombat Divine</i> 1995 childrens book by Mem Fox

Wombat Divine is a 1995 Christmas-themed children's fiction book written by Australian author Mem Fox and illustrated by Kerry Argent. The book, written for children aged three years and above, tells the story of a young wombat who fears he will not be given a part in this year's Nativity play, but is delighted in the end to be chosen for the part of the Christ Child. A 21st anniversary edition of the book was published in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisabeth MacIntyre</span> Australian childrens writer and illustrator

Elisabeth MacIntyre was an Australian writer and illustrator. She mainly produced children's picture books and cartoon strips, but also created cartoon strips for adults and novels for young adults. She is recognised as "a staunch advocate of promoting Australian animals and surrounds in an era when the majority of children's books were imported from England". Her picture books appealed for their lively, bright illustrations and "irresistible", "infectious", stories, which used line and words economically and effectively. She was successful in the Australian, American and British markets, and some of her novels were also translated into German and Japanese. Her best known works are Ambrose Kangaroo, Susan, Who Lives in Australia, and Hugh's Zoo, for which she won the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book in 1965.

References

  1. Puffin Books. "Animalia 25th Anniversary Edition". Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  2. ABE Books. "Animalia (Numbered and Signed anniversary edition)" . Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  3. Penguin Books. "Animalia Colouring Book". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  4. LibraryThing.com. "Animalia 2008 Coloring Calendar" . Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  5. BookFinder.com. "The Animalia Wall Frieze" . Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  6. "Animalia 300-piece jigsaw puzzle". Amazon. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  7. Curriculum Press. "Animalia – Primary teaching resource". Archived from the original on 3 May 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  8. MyBookCorner.com.au. "Animalia – Anniversary Edition". Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  9. Yabba.org. "Award Winners – 1986 through 2011" . Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  10. The Children's Book Council of Australia. "Winners and Commended Books 1980 – 1989". Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  11. KOALA New South Wales. "Complete list of KOALA winners 1987 to 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.