Graeme Base

Who is he?

• Graeme Base was born in England, but since the age of 8 haslived in Melbourne, Australia.

• He always wanted to be an artist.

• After graduating from college, Graeme worked as a graphic design artist for a few years.

• He decided that was not what he wanted to do and become arock star.

• He played with the rock band Rikki Tikki Tavi.

• As a musician, Graeme wrote and illustrated his first book, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, which was published in 1983.

•Three years later he wrote and published Animalia which turned his hobby into a career.

•Animalia was even turned into a TV series.

www.pbskidsgo.org/animalia

•He has written and illustrated 11 children’s books, 1 novel, and illustrated 6 books written by other authors.

•Graeme still lives in Melbourne with his wife Robyn and their three teenage children.

How does Graeme get ideas for his writing?

Graeme gets many of his ideas from traveling and childhood memories.

The Water Hole was inspired by his trip on an African safari.

The Sign of the Seahorse was inspired by Graeme’s first Scuba diving experience in Martinique.

My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch was inspired by his boyhood memories.

*like all good authors he writes about what he knows and cares about

•Graeme’s paintings are done on illustration board with watercolors and transparent inks.

•He uses brushes, pencils, technical drawing pens, and a scalpel (for scratching).

•Graeme also uses an airbrush to spray colors onto the board. (This technique is used for painting skies, mist, and horses breath.)

“My artwork is done primarily as a form of self-expression…”

Important Thoughts from Graeme Base…

Question and Answer With Graeme Base…

Were you always

a good writer?

The most important thing In doing work you are happy

with is understanding that your first draft is NEVER the final

draft. You can always improve on the work by careful editing and you must be prepared to

put in the hard work to create a good result.

Question and Answer With Graeme Base…

What is your favorite book that you have

written?

The next one—because I always hope and believe

the next one will be better than the last.

That’s why I keep doing them.

Exciting News!!

We can contact Graeme Base at:

Penguin Books Australia Ltd.487 Maroondah HighwayP.O. Box 257Ringwood, Victoria 3134Australia

Let’s take a look at some of Graeme’s books together. We’ll study his illustrations and read his text, and even create some books of our own.

Let’s start by taking a closer look at our author/illustrator. We can check out his website to learn even more interesting facts about his life and work.

www.graemebase.com

Our Class Plan

Resources

• (2006) Graeme (Rowland) Base. Something About the Author. (Vol. 162, pp. 7-13.)

• http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000002108,00.html

• www.graemebase.com• http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/

mai_base_grame.html