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Elizabeth Honey
Honey in 2013
Honey in 2013
Born (1947-02-07) 7 February 1947 (age 78)
Wonthaggi, Victoria, Australia
Occupation Writer, illustrator, poet
Genre Children's literature, children's poetry, children's theatre

Elizabeth Madden Honey (born 7 February 1947) is a super talented Australian writer, illustrator, and poet! She's famous for her awesome picture books and novels for kids your age. Her books are loved all over the world. Elizabeth Honey lives in Richmond, Melbourne.

In 1997, she won the Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book for her book Not a Nibble. She also received the Prize Cento and the Young Australians Best Book Award (YABBA) for 45 & 47 Stella Street and everything that Happened. In 2001, she won the Australian Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature.

About Elizabeth Honey's Life and Career

Elizabeth Honey was born in Wonthaggi, a coal mining town in Gippsland, Victoria. She grew up on a dairy farm. She was the third of four children. As a child, she was often sick, which made her love reading even more. Later, her family moved to a farm near Geelong, and she went to high school at Morongo Girls' College.

Learning Art and Film

In Melbourne, Elizabeth studied art at Swinburne Technical College. She was part of the second group of students at Australia’s very first film school! It was the "Swinging Sixties," a time of new ideas. The students were full of artistic talent and confidence.

The mix of creative people at Swinburne really influenced Elizabeth. The course was flexible, letting students try out new things. They watched films from all over the world at the Melbourne Film Festival. They also put on student shows called ‘Braindrops’ and ‘68mm’.

Starting Her Creative Journey

Elizabeth Honey worked for a short time at ABC Channel 2. Then she worked in film, including on The Adventures of Barry McKenzie. She also worked in advertising and traveled a lot.

Later, Elizabeth started working as a freelance illustrator. This means she drew pictures for different clients. She drew for newspapers like The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. She even designed stamps for Australia Post.

From 1976 to 1986, she published a calendar with her illustrations. But she found illustrating children's books the most rewarding.

Becoming an Author and Illustrator

In 1988, Elizabeth Honey published her first book where she was both the author and the illustrator. It was called Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber. Her publisher, Rosalind Price, encouraged her work.

Since then, Elizabeth has become a very important voice in Australian children's literature. She has written and illustrated many award-winning books. These include novels, poetry collections, and picture books for all ages. She is known for her funny and imaginative writing. Her characters are often very outspoken and brave.

Elizabeth often gets ideas from her own family life. This is clear in her first poetry book, Honey Sandwich. One of her poems goes:

  • Looking for my sandals.
  • Looking for my hat.
  • I spend all my life
  • doing that.

In 1995, her first novel, 45 + 47 Stella Street and everything that happened, was published. This book was translated into many languages. It became the first in a popular series. The newest book in the series, From Stella Street to Amsterdam, came out in 2020. This was twenty-five years after the first book!

Elizabeth Honey's Books and Works

Picture Books

  • Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber (1988)
  • The Cherry Dress (1993)
  • Not a Nibble! (1996)
  • The Moon in the Man (2003)
  • I'm Still Awake, Still! (2008)
  • That's not a Daffodil! (2011)
  • Ten Blue Wrens: And What a Lot of Wattle! (2011)
  • Hop Up! Wriggle Over! (2015)

Poetry Books

  • Honey Sandwich (1993)
  • Mongrel Doggerel (1998)
  • The Moon in the Man (2003)

Novels

  • Don't Pat the Wombat!, illustrated by Gig Clarke (1996)
  • What Do You Think, Feezal? (1997)
  • Remote Man (2000)

Stella Street Series

  • 45 + 47 Stella Street and Everything that Happened (1995)
  • Fiddle-back (1998)
  • The Ballad of Cauldron Bay (2004)
  • To the Boy in Berlin with Heike Brandt (2007)
  • From Stella Street to Amsterdam (2020)

Activity Books

  • The Book of Little Books (1994)

Collaborations (Books with Others)

  • Energy for Kids with Gilbert Tippett (1986)
  • Trees for Kids with Ian Edwards (1998)
  • To the Boy in Berlin with Heike Brandt (2007)
  • Our Island with the children of Gununa, Mornington Island, and Alison Lester (2014)
  • I'm Still Awake, Still! with composer Sue Johnson (2008)

Elizabeth Honey as an Illustrator for Other Authors

Elizabeth Honey has also illustrated many books written by other authors. Here are some of them:

  • S.C.A.B., by Manny Clarke (1975)
  • The Twenty-Seventh Annual African Hippopotamus Race, by Morris Lurie (1977)
  • Puzzles Galore!, by Meryl Brown Tobin (1978)
  • Snakes Alive!, by Maureen Stewart (1978)
  • So What's New?, by Bettina Bird (1978)
  • Gone Children, by Phyllis Harry (1978)
  • Gino and Dan, by Carolyn Marrone (1979)
  • Us Three Kids, by Bettina Bird (1979)
  • Call It Quits, by Bettina Bird (1979)
  • Fame and Misfortune, by John Jones (1979)
  • Feel, Value, Act, by Laurie Brady (1979)
  • Growing things: Nature Study Ideas for the Primary School, by Brian McKinlay (1979)
  • Mexican Beans, by L. M. Napier (1980)
  • All Change at the Station, by Susan Burke (1980)
  • Barney, Boofer, and the Cricket Bat, by Judith Worthy (1980)
  • More Puzzles Galore!, by Meryl Brown Tobin (1980)
  • Themes through the Year, by Cathy Hope (1981)
  • The Tucker Book, by Jessie Apted (1981)
  • Salt River Times, by William Mayne (1982)
  • Flora's Treasures, by Ted Greenwood (1982)
  • Brave with Ben, by Christobel Mattingley (1982)
  • History Alive: Introducing Children to History around Them, by Brian McKinlay (1983)
  • Melissa's Ghost, by Michael Dugan (poet) (1986)
  • Boiler at Breakfast Creek, by Roger Vaughan Carr (1986)
  • The Prize, by Helen Higgs (1986)
  • I Don't Want to Know: Towards a Healthy Adolescence, by Ted Greenwood (1986)
  • Outdoors for Kids, by Brian McKinlay (1987)
  • Oh No! Not Again, by Linda Allen (1989)
  • Dream Time: New Stories by Sixteen Award-Winning Authors, edited by Toss Gascoigne, Jo Goodman and Margot Terrell (1991)
  • No Gun for Asmir, by Christobel Mattingley (1993)
  • Asmir in Vienna, by Christobel Mattingley (1995)

Theatre Productions

Elizabeth Honey's stories and poems have also been turned into plays!

Mr Bleak and the Etryop

The play Mr Bleak and the Etryop first showed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2007. It's about a confused Mr. Bleak who only cares about being productive. But then, some energetic schoolchildren help him discover the joy of poetry! The play toured around Victoria in 2008.

I'm Still Awake, Still! Musical

A musical play based on I'm Still Awake, Still! was created. It was inspired by the songs Elizabeth Honey wrote with Sue Johnson. This musical first opened at the Melbourne Arts Centre in 2011. It then toured the US and Australia in 2014. Critics said it was a clever mix of comedy and song. It celebrated how playful children are and gave them a cool look into the world of music.

That's not a Daffodil Play

A play adapted from Elizabeth Honey's book That's not a Daffodil premiered in Melbourne in 2015. It toured Victoria in 2017. The story is about a young boy who gets a daffodil bulb from his elderly Turkish gardener neighbor.

Awards and Honours for Elizabeth Honey

Elizabeth Honey has won many awards for her amazing books! Here are some of the most important ones:

1994

1996

1997

2001

2003

2008

  • Australian Publishers Design Awards: Best Designed Book for Young Adults for To the Boy in Berlin with Heike Brandt
  • Selected for The White Ravens Catalog of the International Youth Library in Munich, for To the Boy in Berlin with Heike Brandt

2012

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