Hazel Edwards facts for kids

Hazel Edwards OAM is a famous Australian author. She writes many books, especially for children. One of her most well-known books is There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake. She has written over 200 books!

Early Life and Education

Hazel Edwards was born in Melbourne, Australia. She grew up there and went to Ashburton Primary School. Later, she attended Camberwell High School. She finished high school in 1961.

Becoming an Author

After school, Hazel worked at a bank. She also studied at night. She then went to Toorak Teachers' College. She taught at Westall High School. Later, she taught at Frankston Teachers' College. She also studied at Monash University at night.

Hazel then taught children's literature. She also taught psychology. This was at Toorak Teachers' College. She also taught at the Institute of Early Childhood Development. After her books General Store (1977) and There's a Hippopotamus On Our Roof Eating Cake (1980) were published, she became a full-time writer and speaker. The "Hippopotamus" book even became a musical in 2016! It was called 'Hippo Hippo the Musical'.

Adventures in Antarctica

In 2001, Hazel Edwards became a writer for the Australian Antarctic Division. She won an Antarctic Fellowship. This allowed her to travel to Casey Station in Antarctica. She sailed there on a ship called the Polar Bird.

Her trip to Antarctica inspired many books. These include Antarctica's Frozen Chosen, which is an adventure story for young adults. She also wrote Antarctic Writer on Ice, which is her diary from the trip. Antarctic Dad is a picture book. She also wrote a play called Right or Wrong with Goldie Alexander. She even made a DVD called Grandma Leaps the Antarctic. It used Auslan sign language.

Other Important Work

In 2012, Hazel was an ambassador for the National Year of Reading. This meant she helped encourage people to read. She also served on the board of the Australian Society of Authors.

In 2010, Hazel wrote a young adult novel called f2m; the boy within. She wrote it with Ryan Kennedy. In 2018, she released Like Me. This book is about a child in a reading program. The program was called "Doggy Tales" at the Yarra Plenty Regional Library. Her 2016 novel Hijabi Girl was co-written with Ozge Allan. It is about diverse school friends in Australia. This book was also turned into a musical puppet show.

Awards and Honours

Hazel Edwards has received many awards for her work:

• 2009 ASA Medal from the Australian Society of Authors.
• 2013 Order of Australia Medal for her contributions to literature.
• 2017 YABBA Graham Davey citation for helping young readers and writers.
• 2022 Distinguished Alumni for Education from Monash University.

Published Works

Cake Eating Hippo Series

• 'Ho!Ho!Ho! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Christmas Cake'
• There's a Hippopotamus on our Roof Eating Cake
• "Hooray! There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Having a Birthday Party"
• Hand Me Down Hippo chapter book
• My Hippopotamus is on our Caravan Roof Getting Sunburnt
• Hey Hippopotamus, Do Babies Eat Cake
• Look, There's a Hippopotamus in the Playground Eating Cake
• Guess What? There's A Hippopotamus on the Hospital Roof Eating Cake
• Our Cake Eating Hippo Plays
• Pocket Bonfire Productions 16-minute film There's a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake

Antarctic Related Works

• Antarctic Dad Kipas Books re-issue 2018
• Antarctica's Frozen Chosen
• Antarctic Writer on Ice
• Right or Wrong? Plays that make you think
• Antarctic Closeup in Making Tracks series