Juliette MacIver
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MacIver, Juliette ( - ) is a children’s picture book writer and a full-time mother of four. Before becoming a children’s author, she completed a Bachelor Degree in Linguistics and a Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language. Her first picture book, Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam (Scholastic) was published in 2010, and was shortlisted for the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults the following year. The picture book was also awarded a Storylines Notable Book Award and was shortlisted for the Crystal Kite Award in 2011.
Marmaduke Duck and the Marmalade Jam, illustrated by Sarah Davis, was a hit due to MacIver’s impressive use of rhyme. John McIntyre reviewed it on National Radio (01/10/10), saying 'She’s got the ability to write really great rhyme...it requires an understanding and an ear for the meter…it really does require hard work.’ He believes MacIver is a writer to watch in the future. A parent review on the Kiwi Families blog says ‘The words roll off your tongue and stick in your brain (in a good way) and the vocabulary doesn’t underestimate its young audience.’
The sequel, Marmaduke Duck and Bernadette Bear (Scholastic, 2011) likewise received universally good reviews, and was also shortlisted for the LIANZA Book Awards in 2012. Janet McFadden reviews it on the ‘Create Readers’ blog for National Library ‘For younger children there are great messages about friendship and sharing, and assertiveness versus aggression.’ Reviewers are also impressed with the lively illustrations by Sarah Davis, which complement the text well.
In between the two Marmaduke Duck books, MacIver also released Tom and the Dragon (Scholastic, 2011), illustrated by Scott Tulloch. Tom and the Dragon was named a Notable Book in the Picture Book category of the 2012 Storylines Notable Books List.
Her first early chapter book, Little Witch, was released through Walker Books Australia in 2013.
Toucan Can by Juliette MacIver (illustrated by Sarah Davis) was published by Gecko Press in 2013. Toucan Can was awarded a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2014, and was also a finalist in the Picture Book category of the 2014 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
Among the titles mentioned, MacIver has also published Queen Alice’s Palaces (HarperCollins Australia, 2013), The Frog Who Lost His Underpants (Walker Books Australia, 2013), an addition to the Marmaduke Duck series: Marmaduke Duck on the Wide Blue Seas (Scholastic, 2014), The Moose and the Goose (Scholastic, 2014), Bye! Bye! Bye! (Scholastic, 2014), and Grasshoppers Dance (Scholastic, 2015).
Her books are available in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the USA, where one of her most recent books, Yak and Gnu (Walker Books Australia, 2015), received excellent reviews in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Boston Globe. Yak and Gnu also received a Storylines Notable Book Award in 2016.
A fourth addition to the Marmaduke Duck series was published in 2016 by Scholastic: Marmaduke Duck and the Christmas Calamity. Margaret Mahy praised the series for how its 'continuing echoing of sound would make it great fun to read aloud to a child'.
Most recently her book That’s Not a Hippopotamus! (Gecko Press, 2015) was the winner of the 2017 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults in the picture book category. Gwendolyn! (ABC Books, 2016) was also shortlisted for the same award. 2017 also saw the release of two more picture books, We're Off to Find a Kiwi (Scholastic) and A Mother’s Day Dilemma (Scholastic).
Juliette MacIver currently lives in a seaside suburb near Wellington, New Zealand, with her husband and four children, and has a forthcoming picture book called Henry Bob Bobbalich.
MEDIA LINKS AND CLIPS
- Storylines Profile of Juliette MacIver
- Juliette MacIver’s website
- Interview about Little Axel's Axolotl, The Sapling
