As Animalia turns 40, Graeme Base reflects on the story behind the classic picture book
Illustrator Graeme Base reflects on the 40th anniversary of his iconic children's book, Animalia, which became a global bestseller after its 1986 release. The article details the book's unexpected commercial success and the author's journey from a young artist to a celebrated creator.
Why it matters
Animalia remains a significant cultural touchstone in children's literature, and this retrospective offers insight into the publishing industry's dynamics during the 1980s.
Graeme Base has written and illustrated more than 30 children's books in a career spanning four decades. ( Supplied: Robyn Base )
Link copied Share Share article In 1986, Graeme Base was a 28-year-old illustrator who had published one picture book, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, and was about to publish another.
His sophomore effort was an alliterative alphabet book lavishly illustrated in his baroque style, titled Animalia.
Whether the world needed another A-B-C book was debatable, but his publisher, Bob Sessions, was willing to take a punt.
The first hint of the phenomenal success the book would garner — coming in at number five on the New York Times list of the bestselling books of 1987 — was the response to an exhibition of the artwork held in the lead up to the book's publication.
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