Mary Steele Mary Steele i(A41484 works by) (a.k.a. Mary de Chair Steele)
Born: Established: 1930 Newcastle, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Mary Steele was born in Newcastle and grew up in Ballarat during the 1930s and 1940s. Steele completed an M.A. at the University of Melbourne and has worked as a lecturer, teacher, librarian and research assistant. In the 1980s she wrote two children's books about an aardvark, her first, Arkwright (1985), winning the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for Younger Readers. She has since written more children's books that have attracted award nominations; a bibliography of children's stories, Traditional Tales (1989), Eileen Colwell: an Excellent Guide: Writings in Celebration (2000) and an autobiography, Beside the Lake: A Ballarat Childhood (2000).

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Blotsville Flemington : Hyland House , 2002 Z971727 2002 single work children's fiction children's Old Mrs. Abigail Chattery stood at her farm gate and stared at the new houses from the estate spilling over the hill. 'Blots on the landscape, all of you!' she shouted. 'BLOTS!' Other citizens of Blotsville are also becoming increasingly uneasy. What is their slipper Mayor, H.P. Burpwistle, up to in the name of 'progress'? An unlikely group forms. Mrs. Chattery and old Mr. Blunt, their two wily pet birds Galahad and Sulf, young Max and Pippi Bitzer and their parents (who own the pet shop), band together and mount an eccentric campaign to show that true progress is measured by people's happiness.(Libraries Australia record).
2003 winner The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature — Fiction
y separately published work icon A Bit of a Hitch A Bit of a Hitch and Other Stories South Melbourne : Hyland House , 1995 Z832937 1995 selected work children's fiction children's

'JUST IMAGINE...You're baby-sitting a clutch of very unusual eggs and they start to hatch. The whole town wants to meet the imaginary Aunt you invented! You get a phone call from a complete stranger on the other side of the world! A day-old chick thinks you're its mum and won't leave you alone! You will find these and many other hitches inside this book. Mary Steele's tales are packed with everyday people finding themselves in the strangest situations. Sometimes hilarious, often thought-provoking, A Bit of a Hitch is another serving of eccentricity and delights from this award-winning author.' (Publication summary)
1996 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Younger Readers — Younger Readers
1996 selected White Ravens
y separately published work icon Featherbys South Melbourne : Hyland House , 1993 Z796568 1993 single work novel young adult Jess thinks she is facing a boring vacation, when she and her friends discover Featherbys.(Libraries Australia record)
1994 shortlisted CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
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Last amended 30 Oct 2007 10:34:49
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