Stephen Axelsen (1953–) Biography

Born 1953, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; children.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House Australia, 20 Alfred St., Milsons Point, Sydney, New South Wales 2061, Australia.

Career

Writer and illustrator.

Honors Awards

Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards, 1979, for The Oath of Bad Brown Bill; Critici in Erba award, Bologna Book Fair, 1985, for The Racing Car Driver's Moustache by Trevor Todd; Eve Pownall Award for Information Books notable book designation, 2003, for Weird! Amazing Inventions and Wacky Science, by Simon Torok; Aurealis Award finalist for Children's Short Stories, 2004, for The Very Messy Inspection; KOALA Awards shortlist, for Cocky Colin.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Oath of Bad Brown Bill, Thomas Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1978.

Eucalyptus Christmas, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1983.

The Very Messy Inspection ("Piccolo and Anabelle" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

The Disastrous Party ("Piccolo and Anabelle" series), Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

ILLUSTRATOR

Cliff Green, The Incredible Steam-driven Adventures of Riverboat Bill, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1975.

Dorothy Wall, Blinky Bill and the Guest House: Based on The Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill, Angus & Robertson (London, England), 1975.

Anne-Marie Willis, Blinky Bill and the Pelicans, Angus & Robertson (London, England), 1976.

Vince Jones, Eli's Camel, Rigby (Adelaide, Australia), 1978.

Dorothy Wall, Blinky Bill and Nutsy Have Fun, Angus & Robertson (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1978.

Lorraine Wilson, And the Teacher Got Mad, Thomas Nelson Australia (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1979.

Lorraine Wilson, La Festa in Costume, Thomas Nelson Australia (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1979.

Lorraine Wilson, The Fancy Dress Parade, Thomas Nelson Australia (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1979.

Lorraine Wilson, Teachers at Our School, Thomas Nelson Australia (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1979.

Lorraine Wilson, The New School, Thomas Nelson Australia (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Lorraine Wilson, Pet Day at School, Thomas Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Lorraine Wilson, Seeing the School Doctor, Thomas Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Leslie Wilson, Sunburn, Thomas Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Lorraine Wilson, Billy Card Day, Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Lorraine Wilson, Doing the Dishes, Thomas Nelson (West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1980.

Joan Dalgleish, The Latchkey Dog, Hodder & Stoughton (Lane Cove, New South Wales, Australia), 1980.

Cliff Green, The Further Adventures of Riverboat Bill, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1981.

Trevor Todd, The Racing-Car Driver's Moustache, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1984.

Cliff Green, Riverboat Bill Steams Again, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1985.

Libby Hathorn, All about Anna—and Harriet and Christopher and Me, Methuen (North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia), 1986.

Maurice Saxby and Glenys Smith, compilers, What If?, Methuen (North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia), 1987.

(With Jenny Axelsen) Little Sisters, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1988.

The Big Book of Australian Funny Poems, Macmillan (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1989.

Joan Dalgleish, Dog on a Diet, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1989.

Denise Ryan and David Drew, compilers, Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990.

Denise Ryan and David Drew, compilers, That's Impossible!, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990.

Denise Ryan and David Drew, compilers, What's So Funny?, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990.

Roger Morgan, I Thought I Saw a Dinosaur, Murdoch Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1990.

Melissa Hamilton and Margaret Hamilton, compilers, The Recycled Joke Book: The Environment-friendly Collection, Margaret Hamilton Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1991.

Moira Cochrane, The Wombat Who Wanted to Fly, Jacaranda (Milton, Queensland, Australia), 1992.

Max Dann, Jason Prince, Puffin Books (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 1992.

Garry Hurle, The Second-Hand Tongue, and Other Hilarious Stories, Margaret Hamilton Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1993.

David Drew, Looney Tools: Inventing Technology, Rigby Heinemann (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1993.

Tom Bradley, Crowded House, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Tom Bradley, Double Dilemma, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Tom Bradley, Fair Weather, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Tom Bradley, Father Daze, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Tom Bradley, Nine Lives, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Tom Bradley, Trading Spaces, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Stephen Gard, O, Susanna, Ashton Scholastic (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Peter McFalane, Rebecca the Wrecker, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Colleen Barton, Murder Most Fowl: More of I Findem, Scholastic (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Ellen Frances, Undercover!, Longman Australia (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1996.

Peter McFarlane, Betty the Balloon Buster, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Peter McFarlane, Bruce the Goose, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1996.

Red Hot Jokes for Kool Kids, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Dianne Bates, Desert Dan the Dunny Man, Hodder Children's Books Australia (Rydalmere, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Dianne Bates, Hairy Hannah and the Grandad Gang, Hodder Headline Australia (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Peter McFarlane, Max the Man Mountain, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Peter McFarlane, Soula the Ruler, Angus & Robertson (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Pat Long and John Phemister, editors, Why? Scientists Answer Children's Questions, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Rose Inserra, Albert Spells Trouble, Nelson ITP (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Andy Jones, compiler, Sizzling Hot Jokes for Kool Kids, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Rose Inserra, The Missing Teeth, Rigby Heinemann (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Margaret Mahy, Down in the Dump with Dinsmore, Puffin Books (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Peter McFarlane, Barnaby the Barbarian, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Teri McLauchlan, Warped William; Watch out William, Nelson ITP (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Jen McVeity, Joe Cocker Spaniel, Longman (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Duncan Ball, Quentin's Lunch, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Paul Holper and Simon Torok, Wow! Amazing Science Facts and Trivia (also see below), ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Peter McFarlane, Michaela the Whaler, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Bob Ryan, The Mad Murkins' Holiday, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

John Heffernan, The Adventures of Pete Paddock Basher: Six Stories, Margaret Hamilton Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Richard Tulloch, Cocky Colin, Omnibus Books (Norwood, South Australia, Australia), 1999.

Michelle Atkins, Marion and the Mudpies; Marion's Big Secret, Nelson ITP (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2000.

Max Dann, Teacher's Pest, Puffin Books (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 2000.

Max Fatchen, Terrible Troy, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Cynthia Maxwell, Wild Things, Omnibus Books (Norwood, South Australia, Australia), 2000.

Terri McLauchlan, William Loses His Memory; William Can Read Minds, Nelson ITP (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2000.

Debra Oswald, Frank and the Emergency Joke, Penguin (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 2000.

Emily Rodda, Gobbleguts, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Simon Torok and Paul Holper, Whiz! Amazing Maths and Science Puzzles (also see below), ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Richard Tulloch, Lucke's Amazing Smell, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2000.

Cedric Axelsen, Yeast: The Elixir of Life (memoir), Halstead Press (Rushcutters Bay, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Phil Cummings, Sid and the Slimeballs, Heinemann Library (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2001.

Max Dann, Bernice Knows Best, Penguin (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 2001.

Paul N. Holper and Simon Torok, Zap! Amazing Science Experiments (also see below), ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Katrina Nannestad, Bungaloo Creek, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2001.

Andy Jones, compiler, Bumper Book of Hot Jokes for Kool Kids Volume Two, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Kathy Hoopman, Race of Fear, Word Weavers Press (Bulimba, Queensland, Australia), 2002.

Sherryl Clark, Susie the Lifesaver, Penguin Books (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 2003.

Paul N. Holper and Simon Torok, 101 Great Solar System Facts and Trivia, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Max Dann, One Night at Lottie's House, Puffin Books (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia), 2004.

Glenda Millard, Mrs Wiggins' Wartymelons, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Angela Moore, Dizzy and Me: A Hairy, Holiday Adventure, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

The Stinky Cheese Gypsies, Random House Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Cassandra Golds, The Mostly True Story of Matthew and Trim, Puffin (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2005.

Simon Torok and Paul Holper, Amazing Science! Weird! Inventions and Wacky Science; Whiz! Maths and Science Puzzles; Zap! Science Experiments; Wow! Science Facts and Trivia, ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2005.

Also illustrator of Out of Read! (training kit), for New South Wales Department of Education and Training, 2002.

Adaptations

The Oath of Bad Brown Bill was adapted as a musical, music by Barry Conyngham, libretto by Murray Copland, produced in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1985.

Work in Progress

Writing and illustrating more books in the "Piccolo and Annabelle" series.