BASSIL, Andrea 1948-
(Anna Nilsen)

PERSONAL: Born September 16, 1948, in England. Ethnicity: "White Caucasian." Education: Attended Eastbourne School of Art, 1966-67; Edinburgh College of Art, diploma in art and design, 1972; Moray House College of Education, Scottish certificate of education, 1973. Hobbies and other interests: Photography, travel, gardening, walking.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—16 Emery St., Cambridge CB1 2AX, England; fax: 01228-364266. Agent—Herman Agency, Inc., 350 Central Park W, New York, NY 10025. E-mail—gbassil@globalnet.co.uk.

CAREER: Mussleburgh Grammar School, assistant teacher of art, 1973-74; St. Margaret's School, Newington, England, assistant teacher of art, 1974-85; Bournemouth & Poole College of Art and Design, Bournemouth, England, course director in natural history illustration, 1985-90; Anglia Polytechnic University, head of graphic arts and illustration, 1990-94; full-time artist, writer, and illustrator, 1995—. Lamp of Lothian Art Centre, evening class lecturer, 1973-74; Anglia Polytechnic University, visiting lecturer, 2002—. Pixel Magic, art director, screen designer, and games consultant, 1995-96; educational games consultant to Multimedia Corp. Artwork exhibited in solo shows and group shows in England and Scotland.

MEMBER: Society of Authors, Authors Licensing and Collecting Society, Children's Book Circle, Cambridge Illustration Group.

AWARDS, HONORS: Goldsmiths' Hall scholarship for Paris, France, 1981; award in activity book category, Parents' Guide to Children's Media, 2001, for Art Fraud Detective.

WRITINGS:

children's books; under pseudonym anna nilsen

Jungle, illustrated by Peter Joyce, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Farm, illustrated by Annie Axworthy, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Friends, illustrated by Sue Coney, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Wheels, illustrated by Joe Wright, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Dinosaurs, illustrated by Annie Axworthy, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Terrormazia: A Hole New Kind of Maze Game, illustrated by Dom Mansell, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Flying High, illustrated by Tony Wells, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Fairy Tales, illustrated by Sue Coney, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Under the Sea, illustrated by Tania Hurt-Newton, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Drive Your Car, illustrated by Tony Wells, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Drive Your Tractor, illustrated by Tony Wells, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Where Are Percy's Friends?, illustrated by Dom Mansell, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Where Is Percy's Dinner?, illustrated by Dom Mansell, Walker Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Percy the Park Keeper Activity Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Follow the Kite, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Let's Dig and Burrow, Zero to Ten, 1998.

Let's Hang and Dangle, Zero to Ten, 1998.

Let's Leap and Jump, Zero to Ten, 1998.

Let's Swim and Dive, Zero to Ten, 1998.

Spy Catcher, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

Treasure Smuggler, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

Gold Robber, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

I Can Spell—Words with Four Letters, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1998.

I Can Spell—Words with Three Letters, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1998.

Insectoids Invasion, illustrated by Philip Nicholson, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

Jewel Thief, DK Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

My Favorite Fairy Tales: A Sticker Book, illustrated by Sue Cony, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

I Can Count 1 to 10, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1999.

I Can Count 10 to 20, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1999.

Mousemazia, illustrated by Dom Mansell, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

I Can Subtract, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 2000.

I Can Add, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 2000.

Art Fraud Detective, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 2000.

I Can Multiply, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 2001.

(And illustrator) Magnificent Mazes, Mathew Price, 2001.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Numbers, Miles Kelly, 2001.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Words, Miles Kelly, 2001.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Colours, Miles Kelly, 2001.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Shapes, Miles Kelly, 2001.

(And illustrator) The Great Race, Little Hare Books (Australia), 2002.

(And illustrator) The aMAZEing Journey of MarcoPolo, Little Hare Books (Australia), 2002.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Actions, Miles Kelly, 2002.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Noises, Miles Kelly, 2002.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Sizes, Miles Kelly, 2002.

(And illustrator) Let's Learn Opposites, Miles Kelly, 2002.

(And illustrator) Pirates, Little Hare Books (Australia), 2003.

Art Scandal, illustrated by Mandy Stanley, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 2003.

Moo Cow Moo!, illustrated by Jonathan Bentley, Little Hare Books (Australia), 2003.

Swim Duck Swim!, illustrated by Jonathan Bentley, Little Hare Books (Australia), 2003.

(And illustrator) Magnificent Mazes: 20th Century, Mathew Price, 2003.

My Best Friends, Gingham Dog Press (New York, NY), 2003.

other

Design in Partnership, 1989.

Jaguar Expedition to Belize, Royal Geographic Society (London, England), 1989.

(Illustrator) Helen Kinnier Wilson, Cambridge Reflections, Silent (Cambridge, England), 1992.

Also author of Aqua Quest, an information maze game book; author and illustrator of educational posters; creator and illustrator of card games, puzzles, and toy concepts.

Contributor to books, including The Complete Guide to Illustration, Quarto, 1989; and (under pseudonym Anna Nilsen) Compendium of Puzzles and Brainteasers, Reader's Digest Books (Pleasantville, NY), 2000. Contributor of illustrations to National Association of Field Study Offıcers' Journal.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Writing and illustrating The aMAZEing Voyage of the Beagle, for Little Hare Books (Australia); a book on Vincent Van Gogh, for Macrae Books (Italy); Robotic Mathematical Mazes, Tip Truck Tip!, and Wave Baby Wave!, all for Little Hare Books (Australia); additional volumes in the "My Best Friends" series, for Zero to Ten.

SIDELIGHTS: Andrea Bassil once told CA: "In 1990 Walker Books invited me to develop an 'original' concept for a puzzle book. This challenge was my first encounter with children's books, and it inspired me to produce Terrormazia: A Hole New Kind of Maze Game. I had submitted an illustrated children's box for a competition run by Jonathan Cape, and it was selected for their exhibition of best entries. This had impressed my editor at Walker Books. She identified my potential as a 'deviser' of children's books. For the next five years I worked exclusively for Walker Books. In 1995 I retired as the head of illustration at Anglia Polytechnic University to follow a full-time career in children's books. Since then I have had books contracted with a variety of publishers.

"I also have an interest in multimedia work and have developed an educational game for the Oxford University Press Children's Encyclopaedia on CD-ROM. In addition, I worked as the screen designer, art director, and games consultant for a children's title, Witches Academy.

"Since I am a deviser of children's books, my ideas usually start with a visual idea that incorporates an activity (mental and/or physical) around which the narrative is then woven. In this sense I am not a traditional author; normally an author would start with a written script, which is then illustrated. I find that even when developing a narrative concept, I start by sketching a series of visual images. This is due to my art college training, which included a wide range of specialties and a strong emphasis on drawing. Many of my ideas contain an educational element, probably due to the number of years I spent in the academic world. Often my aim is to provide children with an entertaining learning platform. I am interested in combining information with a game, a puzzle, or other activity to encourage children to be inquisitive about the real world. The Aqua Quest book, an information maze game book, is a good example. In the book, the Aquazone kits have been set in different oceans around the world, which introduces children to real fish on their maze journey around the world."

Later Bassil added: "I have recently started to write picture book texts prompted by My Best Friends. I decided to explore emotional issues which are of personal importance to me and have found this new departure very rewarding. I hope these new books will also enrich the lives of their young readers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Bookseller, May 12, 1995, p. 35.

Nursery World, February 22, 1996, p. 12.

Publishers Weekly, June 3, 1996, p. 85.

School Librarian, February, 1996, p. 21.

Time Out for Kids, March-April, 1995, p. 10.