Narelle Oliver was born on 25 February 1960 and grew up in Toowoomba in south east Queensland.
Career
Oliver majored in design and printmaking while studying for a Bachelor of Education degree. She began her career teaching at the Queensland School for the Deaf. 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.
Oliver's first book, Leaf Tail, was published in 1989.
Works
Oliver, Narelle (2001), Baby bilby, where do you sleep?, Lothian, ISBN 978-0-7344-0285-1
Oliver, Narelle (1993), The best beak in Boonaroo Bay, Lothian, ISBN 978-0-85091-671-3
Oliver, Narelle (2013), Don't let a spoonbill in the kitchen!, Parkside, SA Omnibus Books, ISBN 978-1-86291-960-0
Oliver, Narelle (2009), Fox and fine feathers, Omnibus Books, ISBN 978-1-86291-806-1
Oliver, Narelle (1991), High above the sea, Jam Roll Press, ISBN 978-1-875491-04-9
Oliver, Narelle (2006), Home, Scholastic Australia, ISBN 978-1-86291-668-5
Oliver, Narelle (1995), The hunt, Lothian Books, ISBN 978-5-86793-139-1
Oliver, Narelle (1989), Leaf Tail, McCulloch Publishing, ISBN 978-0-949646-97-2
Oliver, Narelle (1999), Sand swimmers : the secret life of Australia's dead heart, Lothian, ISBN 978-0-85091-768-0
Oliver, Narelle (2003), The very blue thingamajig, Norwood, S. Aust. An Omnibus Book from Scholastic Australia, ISBN 978-1-86291-527-5
Honours and awards
1996 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award Winner for The Hunt
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
2007 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books for Home
2013 Queensland Literary Awards — Children's Book Award for Don't let a spoonbill in the kitchen
Personal life
Oliver lived in Brisbane with her husband Greg and their children Jessie and Liam. She died on 5 October 2016.
