Robin Morrow facts for kids

Robin Morrow (born in 1942) is an Australian expert in children's books. She teaches, writes reviews, and edits books for young readers. She also used to be the leader of IBBY Australia, which is a group that promotes books for young people around the world.

Early Life and Education

Robin Moncrieff Morrow was born in 1942. She went to Meriden School and then studied at Sydney University. For several years, she taught English, French, and ESL (English as a Second Language) to students.

Helping Kids Discover Books

Opening a Special Bookshop

In 1971, Robin and her mother, Beryl Moncrieff Matthews, opened a special place called The Children's Bookshop. This shop was in Beecroft and was the very first bookshop in New South Wales just for kids' books. Robin managed this bookshop for 25 years, helping many young readers find their next favorite story.

Teaching About Children's Literature

Robin has taught classes about children's books at several universities. These include Macquarie University, Australian Catholic University, and University of Technology, Sydney. She also taught at Simmons College in Boston, USA. Robin has written many reviews of children's books for newspapers like The Weekend Australian and other magazines.

Judging Book Awards

Robin has been a judge for many important literary awards. She helped choose the best books for the Children's Book Council of Australia national awards from 2001 to 2002. She also judged for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Dorothea Mackellar National Poetry Competition for Schools. Robin even helped judge the international Hans Christian Andersen Awards for the International Board on Books for Young People.

Awards and Recognition

Robin Morrow has received several awards for her dedication to children's literature:

• 1996: She received the Pixie O'Harris Award. This award recognized her long and excellent service to Australian children's literature.
• 1998: She was given the John Hirst Award. This award honored her outstanding work for school libraries and teacher librarians in New South Wales.
• 2004: The Lady Cutler Award was presented to her. This award from the Children's Book Council of Australia (NSW) recognized her great service to children's literature in New South Wales.
• 2014: Robin was made a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia. This is a high honor given to people who have made a big difference to Australia.

Published Works

Robin Morrow has written many articles and papers about children's books. Here are some of her works:

• An article about Indigenous languages in some Australian picture books. She presented this at an international meeting in 2010.
• An article about author Ursula Dubosarsky, called "In Love with Language," published in 2011.
• A piece called "Advocate for Children's Literature: Maurice Saxby," published in 2010.
• Many reviews and commentary articles in The Weekend Australian.
• Articles in magazines like Sydney’s Child, Classroom magazine, Bookseller and Publisher, and Magpies.
• A paper about "Surreal Picturebooks" by Binette Schroeder and Anthony Browne, published in 2007.
• An article about how Australia's past is shown in picture books, published in 2009.
• A chapter called "A reality check: the challenges of publishing and selling books for children" in a book about children's history (2004).
• A case study about "Penguins and Puffins" in a book about the history of books in Australia (2005).
• A book about The Children's Bookshop, Beecroft: The First 25 Years, published in 1999.