Annie Groovie
Encyclopedia
Annie Groovie is a Québécois
writer
and illustrator
of children's literature. She is notable for her series of books and comic strips featuring Léon, a young male cyclops
.
). Groovie later earned a degree in Plastic Arts
and a Bachelor's Degree
in Graphic Communications at Université Laval
, before pursuing a career as a commercial designer for Cossette, Inc. for several years in Montreal
, where she has lived since 1994.
Adept at gymnastics
and circus
performance, Groovie was selected in 1997 by the World Circus
to spend three months in Chile
to teach circus skills to street children; she would later go to Africa
on a similar mission in 2000.
Her travels took her to several countries around the world, including France
, Switzerland
, Chile, Brazil
, Argentina
, Costa Rica
, Panama
, Mexico
, Cuba
, Senegal
and the United States
.
In 2003, Groovie created Léon, a male cyclops with a shaggy hairdo; she would soon began to write a series of books for children's publisher La Courte échelle surrounding him and his cycloptic friends—Lola, his girlfriend; and Le Chat, the cat. The format of these books were part-comic book, part children's book, in which the adventures of Léon are drawn out in a series of adventures, jokes, riddles, games and fake advertisement parodies. In 2006, she left her advertising career to work full-time on Léon.
Beginning the fall of 2007, Radio-Canada
television and CBC Television
debuted a series of sixty-second shorts featuring Léon and friends, which aired generally between programs during their children's blocks.
A weekly Léon strip is also published Saturdays in Le Petit Journal, a weekly children's supplement included with Le Journal de Montréal
and associated newspapers.
Léon's books have since been translated to Arabic, Korean
and Italian
.
Groovie has been a three-time winner of the Hackmatack Awards, which is awarded to the favourite Canadian children's books as nominated by readers in Atlantic Canada. She was also the Guest of Honor at the 2010 Salon international du livre de Québec in Quebec City.
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
of children's literature. She is notable for her series of books and comic strips featuring Léon, a young male cyclops
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
.
Biography
At three years of age, her family moved to Sainte-Foy (at the time a suburb of Quebec CityQuebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
). Groovie later earned a degree in Plastic Arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
and a Bachelor's Degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Graphic Communications at Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
, before pursuing a career as a commercial designer for Cossette, Inc. for several years in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, where she has lived since 1994.
Adept at gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
and circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
performance, Groovie was selected in 1997 by the World Circus
World Circus (circus)
World Circus is a Swiss itinerant event centered on the circus arts, created in 1984 by Youri Messen-Jaschin. It presents all aspects of the circus, from its archeological creation to the most contemporary forms....
to spend three months in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
to teach circus skills to street children; she would later go to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
on a similar mission in 2000.
Her travels took her to several countries around the world, including France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Chile, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In 2003, Groovie created Léon, a male cyclops with a shaggy hairdo; she would soon began to write a series of books for children's publisher La Courte échelle surrounding him and his cycloptic friends—Lola, his girlfriend; and Le Chat, the cat. The format of these books were part-comic book, part children's book, in which the adventures of Léon are drawn out in a series of adventures, jokes, riddles, games and fake advertisement parodies. In 2006, she left her advertising career to work full-time on Léon.
Beginning the fall of 2007, Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
television and CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
debuted a series of sixty-second shorts featuring Léon and friends, which aired generally between programs during their children's blocks.
A weekly Léon strip is also published Saturdays in Le Petit Journal, a weekly children's supplement included with Le Journal de Montréal
Le Journal de Montréal
Le Journal de Montréal is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and is the largest-circulation French-language newspaper in North America. Established by Pierre Péladeau in 1964, it is owned by the Sun Media division of Quebecor Media. It is also Canada's largest tabloid...
and associated newspapers.
Léon's books have since been translated to Arabic, Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
Groovie has been a three-time winner of the Hackmatack Awards, which is awarded to the favourite Canadian children's books as nominated by readers in Atlantic Canada. She was also the Guest of Honor at the 2010 Salon international du livre de Québec in Quebec City.