Graeme Rowland Base is an 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.
Background
He was born in Amersham, England, but moved to Australia with his family at the age of eight and has lived there ever since. He attended Box Hill High School and Melbourne High School in Melbourne, and then studied a Diploma of Art 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.
The Eleventh Hour: A Curious Mystery was re-released five years later in 1993 with a new, special sealed section in the back called "The Inside Story". Labelled "TOP SECRET", it carries the paragraph: Within lies the solution to the Curious Mystery of The Eleventh Hour, as well as detailed explanations of all the clues and puzzles in the illustrations. Do not turn this page until you have tried your hardest to unravel the Mystery – for the getting of wisdom is no match for the thrill of the chase, and those who choose the longer road shall reap their reward! — Graeme Base Graeme's first novel, Truck Dogs , has been released in paperback as well as a hardcover edition that includes sixteen colour plates of profiles of the characters, depicting them as they would have appeared in the abandoned picture book, before Graeme decided to instead release the story as a novel for teenagers and younger readers. Colouring books based on Animalia and The Waterhole were published in 2002 and 2004 respectively. A series of jigsaw puzzles were created for selected illustrations from Animalia and a number of wall calendars based on Graeme's works were published throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. In 1987, fans saw Viking's publication of The Animalia Wall Frieze, a giant frieze over 26 feet long, in four folded sections, in a special pack which included 'The ANIMALIA Riddle Sheet' as an added bonus.
My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch was adapted as a play by Gooligulch Productions. The play premiered at the Chookahs! Kids Festival in 2006 and is touring country areas in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
Animalia has been made into a television series, 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 and app in 2010. Published on the iTunes app store by and produced by The Base Factory. An app based on Jungle Drums was released by Inyerpocket in 2008.
Between Boxing Day 2012 and April 2013, Sand Sculpting Australia held their annual exhibition in Frankston, Victoria called "Under the Sea" and included a sculpture based on Graeme's book The Sign of the Seahorse. Their 2013–14 exhibition, "Storyland", was themed on various children's book titles, television shows, and other media, and included a sculpture based on The Discovery of Dragons.
