Animalia & Alliteration Illustrations

We love Animalia. I ran across it on our shelf today and pulled it out for the first time in ages.

If you're not familiar with Graeme Base, it's time you met. To call his illustrations rich is a gross understatement. They're vibrant with color and detail. While all his books are worth your time, Animalia is my favorite. It is an ode to alliteration. Each drawing moves through the alphabet, illustrating the primary subject (ex. Great Green Gorillas Growing Grapes in a Gorgeous Glass Greehouse) as well as hiding in the scene dozens of similar starting objects. 

But my daughter's favorite part of the book is the tiny Graeme in each illustration.

 Like Waldo, he hides throughout the book, sometimes showing only a hand or a foot, and other times appearing so small you need a magnifying glass to spot his signature yellow striped shirt.

When she had found all 26 Graemes, I asked E to draw her own alliteration illustration:

Maybe not her prettiest drawing ever, but you've got to love these eels!

Later on we headed to the zoo to see some gorgeous giraffes gallivanting through the gardens. :)