Narelle Oliver is an Australian author and illustrator from Queensland who has written thirteen picture books. Several of Narelle’s books have been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards including The Hunt which was awarded picture book of the
Narelle Oliver is an Australian author and illustrator from Queensland who has written thirteen picture books. Several of Narelle’s books have been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards including The Hunt which was awarded picture book of the year in 1996. Her interest in picture books began as a primary school teacher where she worked at the Queensland School for the Deaf.
Many of Narelle’s books are based upon the natural environment and the flora and fauna of a particular area in Australia. Examples include the mangroves of South East Queensland for her book The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay or the deserts of Central Australia in Sand Swimmers and Baby Bilby, where do you sleep? (Oliver, 2009)
These picture books and the many others written and illustrated by Oliver reveal a fascination she has with native Australian fauna. In particular their ability to adapt to the environment they live in (Oliver, 2009).
More recently, Oliver has written three books which have been a departure from her Australian flora and fauna theme. These include Mermaids Most Amazing, The Very Blue Thingamajig and Dancing the Boom cha-cha Boogie, which rely on fictional animals.
The recurring themes in Narelle Oliver’s picture books are that the main characters are usually animals, either real or fictional. Animals have been chosen for a number of reasons which include;
· Narelle enjoys working with and drawing the animals in her books.
· She highlights parts of the animals and the patterns in their beaks fur and skin as they work well on linocut, which is the technique she uses for her illustrations.
· The illustrations feature bold outlines and patterns which make animals the ideal subject for the picture books (Oliver, 2016b).
· She enjoys the creative process of designing and making up fictional animals such as the Very Blue Thingamajig.
· Striking illustrations through the use of the lino cut medium.
Identify the Year level
This text will be used in a year 5 classroom.
While her books are based upon animals and how they have adapted to their surroundings, Oliver has been careful to include a fictional story with characters in her books. Throughout the development of the books Oliver was aware that the animals in her books such as the bilby offer opportunities for imaginative characters to be created to tell the story rather than writing an information book (Oliver, 2009).
Throughout her picture books, Narelle uses a method known as lino cut to produce her illustrations. This process involves creating the illustrations which are then copied onto a sheet of linoleum, a material often used for floor covering. Using a variety of sharp objects, she then cuts her illustrations out of the linoleum and then rolls them in ink to give them the desired effect.
Oliver uses the lino cut medium in her illustrations as it emphasises the patterns and textures of her subjects and helps create striking characters through the use of bold outlines.
Creating a picture book
As for many authors, the process of creating a picture book for Narelle Oliver is a detailed process which has required many field trips to study a particular natural environment and the plants and the animals.
Preparing the story for her book Sand Swimmers, Narelle spent several weeks investigating the various deserts of Central Australia researching and observing the landscape and the animals which call that environment their home. The award-winning picture book The Hunt was also commissioned for publication in America and Narelle spent several weeks in there studying the native animals of America for the edition.
Narelle Oliver also spends much of her time organising workshops on writing and illustrating picture books for adults and children around Australia.
Identify the Year level
This text will be used in a year 5 classroom.
Identify themes and how it may integrate with Australian Curriculum.Sand Swimmers has a variety of themes throughout the text which make it an ideal text to use with year 5 students. The book covers topics including science and animals adapting to the natural environment, the importance of Indigenous language groups as well as English explorers as part of Humanities and Social Science. These form major parts of the text Sand Swimmers and are also major parts of the Australian curriculum for children in year 5.
Two themes that form the backbone of the story throughout Sand Swimmers are the different types of desert found in Australia and the various animals that live within these environments.
Narelle Oliver has also included the Indigenous language groups of the Arrernte and Pitjantjara in the story. The inclusion of this in Sand Swimmers also allows for the cross curriculum priority of Indigenous language histories and cultures to be included in the lesson by embedding perspectives of the Indigenous language group in the text.
As part of the Australian curriculum there are seven general capabilities which aim to assist children in developing the knowledge, skills and behaviours which will assist them both at school and outside of school.
The text Sand Swimmers helps student’s literacy skills through analysing the Narelle Oliver’s picture book.