Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers was born in 1977,  he is a Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer who now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Life: There is not a great deal of information about Oliver Jeffers personal life to be found. He was born in Austrailia but grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland; he currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. His interest in art began when he was in school, however he points out that he was never the best in his class at art. He said, “I was always much more interested in being outside and playing on the street than reading when I was young.” Art remained a passion of his and he went onto study art in college.

Themes: If you decide to read the numerous picture books by Oliver Jeffers, you will see that curiosity, adventure and the moral philosophy of young children are the recurring themes. The humor that fills his books is known for its deadpan hilarity that entertains both children and adults.

Style: The plots of Jeffers’ stories seem surreal and fantastical, but what brings them alive is their connection to the ordinary. For example, there may be a boy on an epic quest who still finds time to eat his lunch and dinner, or have a bath. One of the distinct features in all of Oliver's books, as far as illustrations, are that the people he draws always have stick legs. He said he can draw regular legs and feet, sometimes, but the stick legs have kind of become his "thing."



Bibliography: as writer and illustrator...

 As illustrator only... Criticism: 
 * How to Catch a Star (Philomel, Jun 2004)
 * Lost and Found (Philomel, Dec 2005)
 * The Incredible Book Eating Boy (Philomel, 2006) is an adorable book with amazing graphic design and layout focusing on the notion of reading and its importance to a developing mind, is cleverly told.
 * The Way Back Home (Philomel, 2007)
 * The Great Paper Caper (Philomel, 2008) can begin an entire unit about paper, cutting down trees and even flight!
 * The Heart and the Bottle (Philomel, Mar 2010) about love and loss and the ability to, when ready, love again.
 * Up and Down (Philomel, Dec 2010)
 * Stuck (Philomel, Nov 2011)
 * This Moose Belongs to Me (Philomel, Nov 2012) discusses the concept of ownership of another living thing.
 * The Hueys series (Philomel) focuses on the importance of being an individual.
 * The New Jumper / The New Sweater (May 2012)Bookeatingboy.jpeg
 * It Wasn't Me (Jan 2014)
 * None the Number (Jul 2014)
 * What's the Opposite? (Jan 2016)
 * Once Upon an Alphabet: Short Stories for All the Letters (Philomel, Oct 2014)
 * Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth (Philomel, Nov 2017)
 * Noah Barleywater Runs Away, by John Boyne (2010)
 * The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas, by David Almond (2012)
 * The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket, by John Boyne (Knopf, Jan 2013)
 * The Day The Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt (Philomel, Jun 2013)
 * Five Go to Smugglers Top, by Enid Blyton, 70th Anniversary limited edition (2013)
 * Stay Where You Are And Then Leave, by John Boyne (2014)
 * The Day the Crayons Came Home, by Drew Daywalt (Philomel, Aug 2015)
 * Imaginary Fred, by Eoin Colfer (HarperCollins, Sep 2015)

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"Oliver has the very clever ability to masterfully create a book that extends beyond the pages. His writing encourages individuals to think, reflect and analyze not only the words, but the illustrations as well, which is a true reflection of a great multimodal text."=====

Other Information: Oliver Jeffers critically acclaimed picture books have been translated into over forty-five languages, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. His original artwork has been exhibited at such institutions as the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Palais Auersperg in Vienna. Jeffers has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award, Bologna Rigazzi Award, An Irish Book Award,  and a United Kingdom Literary Association Award.

When asked, "Why do you write picture books and not chapter books?" – Niru, Age 10

The beautiful thing about picture books is that the story is told in two parts - the words and the pictures doing different things, with the full potential of the story not realized until they come together in the reader’s head. I’ve made pictures much longer than I’ve been writing stories, so, as much as I like writing, I don’t think I could ever make a book without them.