(1881–1971). American author, book reviewer, and librarian Anne Thaxter Eaton was active in the field of children’s literature. Through her work, she helped to influence decades of American children by facilitating their knowledge of and access to essential reading material. (See also library.)
Eaton was born on May 8, 1881, in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, but grew up in New York, New York. She graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts in the early 1900s. In 1906 Eaton obtained a bachelor’s degree in library science from New York State Library School in Albany, and in 1926 she received a master’s degree from the same institution.
Eaton began her career as a librarian in 1906 at the Pruyn Library in Albany. Four years later she took a job as assistant librarian at the library of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. In 1917 Eaton became the librarian of the progressive Lincoln School of the Teachers’ College at New York’s Columbia University, staying through 1946. There she helped to bring books to the attention of both students and teachers.
Eaton became a children’s book reviewer at The New York Times in 1932, from 1935 to 1946 serving as coeditor of the children’s department. Among her other writings were numerous articles, including “On Reading Aloud” (1923) and “Reading Without Boundaries” (1956), and various textbooks. Reading with Children (1940) and Treasure for the Taking: A Book List for Boys and Girls (1956) helped guide children and adults in picking good books to read. Eaton also compiled anthologies for children, including The Animals’ Christmas: Poems, Carols, and Stories (1944) and Welcome Christmas!: A Garland of Poems (1955).
Eaton retired from The New York Times in 1946 but continued to volunteer in libraries and to work with children. She died on May 5, 1971, in New York City.