Narelle Oliver grew up in Queensland, Australia, in a family who spent every spare moment pursuing interests in visual and performing arts. The linocut print medium, often combined with other media, is a special feature of her illustrations. Narelle is the author-illustrator of a number of award-winning children's picture books: The Hunt won the 1996 Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Picture Book of the Year Award; Sand Swimmers was short-listed for the 2000 CBCA Eve Pownall Award for Information Books and the Queensland Premier's Award for Children's Literature; Home was the winner of the 2007 Patricia Wrightson Prize, part of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards; and in 2010 Fox and Fine Feathers was a CBCA Honour Book and short-listed for the Picture Book of the Year Award. Don't Let a Spoonbill in the Kitchen! was winner of the Queensland Literary Award for Children's Literature in 2014.