Jeanette Eaton
Encyclopedia
Jeanette Eaton was an American writer of children's literature
. A suffragist
and feminist
, she was a 4-time winner of the Newbery Honor
, one of only four writers to win the Newbery Honor four or five times.
. She received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Vassar College
in 1908 and a Master of Arts
degree from Ohio State University
in 1910.
Eaton was a supporter of women's rights
since at least her college years, giving her first public suffragist speech soon after she finished college. In 1915 she co-authored, along with Bertha Morton Stevens, Commercial Work and Training for Girls, which examined the harsh working conditions of women for that time period. In an article in Harper's Weekly
in August 1915 she argued that modern inventions, such as electricity, washing machines, and typewriters, were the "best friend" of women, not suffrage nor education. She also wrote at least one article for The Masses
, a periodical published from 1911–1917 which had socialist
, feminist, and free-love writings. By the late 1920's she was becoming a recognized writer. She was also an editor for the children's magazine Story Parade. She continued writing for feminist periodicals such as AWA [American Woman's Association] Bulletin and Woman's Journal. Her strong feminist views were readily apparent in a November 1915 article she wrote for The Masses:
Her writing, which included many biographies for young adults, has sometimes been thought "melodramatic" and to have "bordered on the overblown", but her biography of Mohandas Gandhi, Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword
(1950, a 1951 Newbery Honor book) "was written in a more muted and understated style". She was given the 1959 Ohioana Award for her 1958 young adult biography of Mark Twain, America's Own Mark Twain.
She died in Central Valley, New York
. Her papers are held at the University of Minnesota Library
, the Children's Literature Research Collections.
NOTE: NH indicates year of Newbery Honor award
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
. A suffragist
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, she was a 4-time winner of the Newbery Honor
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
, one of only four writers to win the Newbery Honor four or five times.
Biography
Eaton was born in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. She received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in 1908 and a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1910.
Eaton was a supporter of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
since at least her college years, giving her first public suffragist speech soon after she finished college. In 1915 she co-authored, along with Bertha Morton Stevens, Commercial Work and Training for Girls, which examined the harsh working conditions of women for that time period. In an article in Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
in August 1915 she argued that modern inventions, such as electricity, washing machines, and typewriters, were the "best friend" of women, not suffrage nor education. She also wrote at least one article for The Masses
The Masses
The Masses was a graphically innovative magazine of socialist politics published monthly in the U.S. from 1911 until 1917, when Federal prosecutors brought charges against its editors for conspiring to obstruct conscription. It was succeeded by The Liberator and then later The New Masses...
, a periodical published from 1911–1917 which had socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, feminist, and free-love writings. By the late 1920's she was becoming a recognized writer. She was also an editor for the children's magazine Story Parade. She continued writing for feminist periodicals such as AWA [American Woman's Association] Bulletin and Woman's Journal. Her strong feminist views were readily apparent in a November 1915 article she wrote for The Masses:
"The woman's magazine is the savior of society, man's best friend, the final hope of our chivalric civilization. Woman's ambitions, her independence, the assertion of her own free personality are gradually but certainly inhibited by a few years of such reading".
Her writing, which included many biographies for young adults, has sometimes been thought "melodramatic" and to have "bordered on the overblown", but her biography of Mohandas Gandhi, Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword
Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword
Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It is illustrated by Ralph Ray. The biography was first published in 1950 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1951....
(1950, a 1951 Newbery Honor book) "was written in a more muted and understated style". She was given the 1959 Ohioana Award for her 1958 young adult biography of Mark Twain, America's Own Mark Twain.
She died in Central Valley, New York
Central Valley, New York
Central Valley is a hamlet in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 1,857 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place...
. Her papers are held at the University of Minnesota Library
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
, the Children's Literature Research Collections.
Selected works
- Commercial Work and Training for Girls (1915, coauthor with Bertha Morton Stevens)
- The Story of Light (1927)
- The Story of Transportation (1928)
- A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame RolandA Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame RolandA Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland is a biography written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It recounts the life story of Marie-Jeanne Roland de la Platière, an influential figure in the French Revolution. Born in relative obscurity, she became a prominent Girondist and was executed...
(1929) (NH 1930) - Jeanne d'Arc, the Warrior Saint (1931)
- The Flame, Saint Catherine of Sienna (1931)
- Young Lafayette (1932)
- Herdboy of Hungary (1932) (collaboration with Alexander Finta)
- Behind the Show Window (1935)
- Betsy's Napoleon (1936)
- Leader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and PatriotLeader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and PatriotLeader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and Patriot is a biography of George Washington written for children by Jeanette Eaton. Illustrated by Jack Manley Rosé, it was first published in 1938 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1939....
(1938) (NH 1939) - Narcissa Whitman: Pioneer of Oregon (1941)
- Heroines of the Sky (1942) (coauthor with Jean Adams and Margaret Kimball)
- Lone Journey (1944)
- Lone Journey: The Life of Roger WilliamsLone Journey: The Life of Roger WilliamsLone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams is a biography of Roger Williams, champion of religious freedom and founder of Providence Plantation, written for children by Jeanette Eaton. First published in 1944, it was illustrated with full-page woodcuts by Woodi Ishmael. The book was a Newbery Honor...
(1944) (NH 1945) - David Livingstone, Foe of Darkness (1947)
- That Lively Man, Ben Franklin (1948)
- Buckley O'Neill of Arizona (1949)
- Leaders in Other Lands (1950)
- Washington, the Nation's First Hero (1951)
- Gandhi, Fighter Without a SwordGandhi, Fighter Without a SwordGandhi, Fighter Without a Sword is a biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It is illustrated by Ralph Ray. The biography was first published in 1950 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1951....
(1950) (NH 1951) - Lee, the Gallant General (1953)
- The Story of Eleanor Roosevelt (1954)
- Trumpeter's Tale: The Story of Young Louis Armstrong (1955)
- The Golden Stamp Book of George Washington (1956)
- America's Own Mark Twain (1958)
NOTE: NH indicates year of Newbery Honor award
External links
- http://books.google.com/books?id=Lg2WZFsdkL4C&pg=PA41&lpg=PA41&dq=jeanette+eaton+biography&source=bl&ots=MztuempHQL&sig=alRbSEWrAO5d4O4VCTjdHllbxFU&hl=en&ei=W0rYTbz_JcuUtwefhaTpDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBjgo#v=onepage&q=jeanette%20eaton%20biography&f=falseHerdboy of Hungary plugged by Boy's LifeBoy's LifeBoy's Life is a 1991 novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert R. McCammon. It received the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1992....
, Dec 1932] - http://books.google.com/books?id=Q-g7yiakDNgC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=jeanette+eaton+biography&source=bl&ots=aRF2p0Kr7N&sig=PiqwBB-SNomNhdfhnFK2CUkzyu0&hl=en&ei=bD_YTZIgqNfRAdfsnPwD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CC8Q6AEwBDge#v=onepage&q=jeanette%20eaton%20biography&f=falseNarcissa Whitman plugged by Boy's LifeBoy's LifeBoy's Life is a 1991 novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert R. McCammon. It received the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1992....
, Apr 1942] - http://books.google.com/books?id=AKsIMaRigdQC&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=jeanette+eaton+biography&source=bl&ots=SmYwaoo8yT&sig=i8xzYBf_JsMI9cCQpLTSwemEw_g&hl=en&ei=b0nYTcPBKonw0gHZmJj9Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAjgo#v=onepage&q=jeanette%20eaton%20biography&f=falseDavid Livingstone plugged by Boy's LifeBoy's LifeBoy's Life is a 1991 novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert R. McCammon. It received the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1992....
, Oct 1948] - Works by or about Jeanette Eaton at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...