Narelle Oliver

Narelle Oliver (1960 - 2016) was an Australian artist, print maker and award-winning children's author-illustrator.

Early life

Narelle Oliver was born on 25 February 1960 and grew up in Toowoomba in south east Queensland. ^[1]

Career

Oliver majored in design and printmaking while studying for a Bachelor of Education degree. ^[1] She began her career teaching at the Queensland School for the Deaf. ^[2]

Oliver was an educator and a committed environmentalist. ^[3] As an illustrator, Oliver combined linocut, watercolour, pastels, collage and digitally-enhanced photographs in her work. She used many environmental themes drawing on the flora and fauna of Australia. ^[4]

Oliver's first book, Leaf Tail, was published in 1989. ^[5]

Works

• Oliver, Narelle (1989), Leaf Tail, McCulloch Publishing, ISBN   978-0-949646-97-2
• — (1991), High above the sea, Jam Roll Press, ISBN   978-1-875491-04-9
• — (1993), The best beak in Boonaroo Bay, Lothian, ISBN   978-0-85091-671-3
• — (1995), The hunt, Lothian Books, ISBN   978-5-86793-139-1
• — (1996), The Well, Lothian Books, ISBN   0-85091-735-2
• — (1999), Sand swimmers : the secret life of Australia's dead heart, Lothian, ISBN   978-0-85091-768-0
• — (2001), Baby bilby, where do you sleep?, Lothian, ISBN   978-0-7344-0285-1
• — (2003), The very blue thingamajig, Norwood, S. Aust. An Omnibus Book from Scholastic Australia, ISBN   978-1-86291-527-5
• — (2006), Home, Scholastic Australia, ISBN   978-1-86291-668-5
• — (2009), Fox and fine feathers, Omnibus Books, ISBN   978-1-86291-806-1 ^[6]
• — (2013), Don't let a spoonbill in the kitchen!, Parkside, SA Omnibus Books, ISBN   978-1-86291-960-0

Honours and awards

• 1996 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award Winner for The Hunt ^[1]
• 1999 Royal Zoological Society of NSW Whitley Award - Best Book for Older Readers for Sand Swimmers: The Secret Life of Australia's Dead Heart
• 2000 joint winner The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature — Picture Book for Sand Swimmers: The Secret Life of Australia's Dead Heart ^[1]
• 2007 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books for Home ^[1]
• 2013 Queensland Literary Awards — Children's Book Award for Don't let a spoonbill in the kitchen ^[1]

Personal life

Oliver lived in Brisbane with her husband Greg and their children Jessie and Liam. ^[7] She died on 5 October 2016. ^[8]

References

1. "Narelle Oliver". AustLit. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
2. "Narelle Oliver". Lateral Learning. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
3. "Vale Narelle Oliver (1960-2016) - Reading Time". Reading Time. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
4. "In Memoriam: Narelle Oliver". Kids Book Review. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
5. Oliver, Narelle (1989), Leaf Tail, McCulloch Publishing, ISBN   978-0-949646-97-2
6. — (2009). "Oliver, Narelle: Fox and fine feathers". Reading Time. 53 (4): 25.
7. "Teachers' Notes "Home"" (PDF). Scholastic. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
8. "RiP Narelle Oliver". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 20 January 2017.

External links

• Professional website
• "Vale Narelle Oliver (1960-2016) - Reading Time". Reading Time. Children's Book Council of Australia. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
• Instructional video