Anne Thaxter Eaton (May 8, 1881 – May 5, 1971) was an American author, book reviewer and children's librarian.[1][2] She served as a children's book reviewer at The New York Times.[3]

Anne Thaxter Eaton

Biography

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Born on May 8, 1881, in Beverly, Massachusetts, Anne Thaxter Eaton was the daughter of Charles Henry and his wife Jane M. Eaton. She grew up in New York.[1] She received a B.A. from Smith College in Massachusetts in the early 1900s. In 1906 she graduated with a bachelor's degree in library science from New York State Library School at Albany. After twenty years, in 1926, she also obtained a master's degree from the same school.[1]

After graduation, in 1906, she started her professional career as a librarian at the Pruyn Library in Albany. Between 1910 and 1917, she served as an assistant librarian at the library of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Tennessee. She later returned to New York to become the librarian of the newly founded Lincoln School of the Teachers' College at New York's Columbia University, and continued until her retirement in 1946.[4]

In 1932 Eaton became a children's book reviewer at The New York Times, where a children's book review page was fortnightly published since 1930. From 1935 to 1946, she served as the co-editor of the children's department of The New York Times along with its own staff Ellen Lewis Buell.[5][6]

She also served as a volunteer in St. Luke's School Library for a period of more than two decades.[6] In 1946, she retired from The New York Times.

She died on May 5, 1971, in New York.

Publications

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Besides her extensive review of children's books, Eaton wrote a number of textbooks and articles. She also compiled reading lists and anthologies. Some of her publications[6] include

  • On Reading Aloud (1923)
  • Reading without Boundaries’’ (1956)
  • Reading with Children (1940)
  • Treasure for the Taking: A Book List for Boys and Girls (1956)
  • The Animals’ Christmas: Poems, Carols, and Stories (1944)
  • Welcome Christmas!: A Garland of Poems (1955).

References

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  1. ^ a b c Miller, Marilyn Lea (2003). Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: A Biographical Dictionary. Santa Barbara, California: Libraries Unlimited. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-591-58028-7. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  2. ^ Kinane, Ian (September 30, 2019). Didactics and the Modern Robinsonade: New Paradigms for Young Readers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-1-789-62004-7. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Shores, Elizabeth Findley (February 26, 2021). Shared Secrets: The Queer World of Newbery Medalist Charles J. Finger. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-682-26155-2. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "Anne Thaxter Eaton". kids.britannica.com. Britannica Kids. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  5. ^ Wolf, Shelby (April 27, 2011). Handbook of Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature. Oxon: Routledge. p. NA. ISBN 978-1-136-91356-3. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Miller 2003, p. 53.