Animalia
Book cover: a larger picture framed by smaller pictures, all of which contain different animals, and title with author at the top
AuthorGraeme Base
IllustratorGraeme Base
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenrePicture books
PublisherHarcourt Brace Jovanovich
Publication date
1986
Pages32
ISBN0-810-91868-4

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]

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.

Related products

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]

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.

External links

Works by Graeme Base
Categories