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Surname is pronounced "DUN-ray"; born in Virginia Beach, VA; Education: Attended University of Delaware, 1971-73; West Chester State College (now University), B.A., 1975; Washington State University, M.A. (theater and music), 1976. Studied archaeology and folklore Edinburgh, Scotland and the Orkney Islands, Scotland; studied papermaking in Basel, Switzerland. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, long distance running, kayaking, canoeing, camping, and working with stone in large scale installations. Olivier Dunrea was born in rural southern Virginia. He currently lives in a tiny, remote mountain village on the extreme western edge of the Catskills Mountains in upstate New York. He shares his house with four dogs and his lifelong partner, John Riffey.CareerIllustrator and author. Worked variously as a waiter, management consultant, freelance designer, and actor in Philadelphia, PA, San Francisco, CA, New York, NY, 1976-79; writer and illustrator, beginning 1976. Teacher of art and theater to children; leader of workshops in makeup design, watercolor illustration, mask making, movement and nonverbal communication, and model building. Has exhibited in Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, London, UK, Paris, France, Antwerp, Belgium, Amsterdam, Netherlands.Since his debut in 1983, author and illustrator Olivier Dunrea has created a steady stream of picture books, including concept books, stories of family life—modern and ancient—and stories about artists. Many of Dunrea's picture books testify to his love of animals and his interest in archaeology and folklore of the British Isles, and several—including Ravena, The Trow-Wife's Treasure, and Bear Noel—take place in a similar land of Dunrea's own creation: the mythic island world called The Lay of Moel Eyris: The Saga of the Bear‘s Son. "I don't write books or make pictures for children," Dunrea once told Something about the Author (SATA). "I make them for myself. It just so happens that children like what I do as much as I do!"The middle child of four, Dunrea was born in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1953, and grew up in a busy household full of siblings and pets. "As a child my major fascination was with farm animals and rocks," the author/illustrator once explained. "Most of my time was spent either taking care of livestock on our homestead or drawing them and making up stories about them. Chickens, geese and pigs are my favorites." Dunrea was the only person in his family to attend college, earning a master of arts degree in theater arts and music. For five years, he worked as a professional actor, singer, and dancer, and also designed stage sets and costumes.Beginning in the late 1970s, Dunrea made several trips to Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Outer Hebrides islands, where he researched—including sketching, painting, and photographing—ancient monuments. As Dunrea explained, "the world seems so very complicated—to both children and adults alike. My fascination is with the ancient past, when things were more mysterious, more magical, and more permanent. Therefore, my favorite kind of stories to write and illustrate usually center around my own characters that I've created from my imagination. They live in a prehistoric, stony setting."In books such as Ravena, Mogwogs on the March!, Deep down Underground, and The Trow-Wife's Treasure Dunrea demonstrates his interest in archaeology and folklore, setting his stories in Moel Eyris. Ravena tells the story of a nonconformist banshee, a female spirit common to Scottish folklore who searches for a new home. Noting Dunrea's pastel illustrations, contained with frames of stones, a Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that they "convey the atmosphere of the locale," while School Library Journal critic Hayden E. Atwood deemed the artwork "superior."In The Trow-Wife's Treasure Dunrea recounts, using Scottish dialect, how a farmer named Bracken van Eyck helps a troll-like woman find her missing child after the infant is blown away by a gust of wind. Although Horn Book reviewer Nancy Vasilakis noted that the plot appears to tell a "simple story of kindness rewarded," she added that the illustrations in Dunrea's "arresting book suggest something deeper and more mystical." Booklist critic Helen Rosenberg remarked on the "detailed and striking" illustrations and called the work a "satisfying tale, with true Scottish flavor."In the nonfiction picture book Skara Brae: The Story of a Prehistoric Village Dunrea reveals to young readers a glimpse of prehistoric life in Skara Brae, an ancient community whose vestiges have been discovered in the Orkney Islands, north of Scotland. Among Dunrea's many pen-and-ink drawings are seascapes, architectural diagrams and site plans, and imagined scenes of village life. Writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Zena Sutherland praised the text as "well written and organized," adding that "graceful illustrations elaborate significantly on an inherently interesting subject." Horn Book critic Ann A. Flowers wrote that Dunrea's text "gives a clear description of the settlers' primitive way of life" and that his "illustrations are fascinating," although some drawings of animals and humans are "not quite convincing." "Children and adults are sure to be intrigued," Marguerite F. Raybould asserted in a School Library Journal review of Skara Brae.Readers return with Dunrea to Moel Eyris in Bear Noel, which finds a polar bear taking on the role of Santa Claus to the creatures of snowy the north woods. As a gentle snow falls, the bear presents a gift to the many animals of the area: a tree decorated with seeds, nuts, and berries. Praising the book as a "quiet" tale, Booklist contributor GraceAnne A. DeCandido added that in his lush opaque watercolor artwork Dunrea "beautifully creates the effect of falling snow." By using a restrained palette of earth tones highlighted by a warm red, he imbues the book with "a celebratory feel," the critic continued. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that the illustrator's "gorgeous, lifelike landscapes … exude a quiet, satisfying beauty," while in School Library Journey a contributor announced that "the paintings area the best part" of Bear Noel. While praising the art in her New York Times Book Review article, Karen Leggett added that Bear Noel "is as simple, complex and elegant a story as each single snowflake."Dunrea focuses on the very young reader with a selection of small-sized picture-book tales that focus on a group of goslings. In Gossie he introduces a silly gosling who decides to share her love of fashionable shoes with her friend Gertie, and the two appear together in Gossie and Gertie. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author/illustrator "imbues both goslings with distinctive, endearing personalities and chronicles experiences every preschooler can recognize." Noting that Dunrea's tales are "as unassuming yet satisfying as the art that illustrates them," Carolyn Phelan suggested in Booklist that, with their use of primary colors, repetitive texts, simple stories, and a dash of rhyme, the books would be equally entertaining to toddlers and older pre-school children.

Surname is pronounced "DUN-ray"; born in Virginia Beach, VA; Education: Attended University of Delaware, 1971-73; West Chester State College (now University), B.A., 1975; Washington State University, M.A. (theater and music), 1976. Studied archaeology and folklore Edinburgh, Scotland and the Orkney Islands, Scotland; studied papermaking in Basel, Switzerland. Hobbies and other interests: Reading,... More