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

Early life edit

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

Career edit

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 edit

  • 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 edit

  • 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 edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "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 edit