Australian artist, print maker and children's author-illustrator
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]
— (2013), Don't let a spoonbill in the kitchen!, Parkside, SA Omnibus Books, ISBN978-1-86291-960-0
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 โ Picture Book for Sand Swimmers: The Secret Life of Australia's Dead Heart[1]
2007 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards โ Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books for Home[1]
2013 Queensland Literary Awards โ 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]