Saxby, Maurice 1924–

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Saxby, Maurice 1924–

(H.M. Saxby, Henry Maurice Saxby)

PERSONAL: Born December 26, 1924, in Australia; son of Maurice Henry (a civil servant) and Nettie (Thompson) Saxby; married Norma Jean Bateson (an executive officer in medical education), December 14, 1972 (died October 24, 1990); children: Hil. Education: Sydney University, B.A., 1954, M.Ed., 1967. Politics: Liberal. Religion: Anglican.

ADDRESSES: Home—50 Carnavon Rd., E. Roseville, New South Wales 2069, Australia.

CAREER: New South Wales Department of Education, Australia, teacher, 1950–56; New South Wales State Teachers' Colleges, Australia, lecturer, 1957–72; Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Sydney, New South Wales, professor and head of English department, 1973–85. Consultant to Penguin Books of Australia and Macmillan Company of Australia. Military service: Australian Imperial Forces, 1943–46, served in Papua, New Guinea; became sergeant.

MEMBER: Children's Book Council of Australia (first national president; trustee of New South Wales branch, 1980–; life membership recognition, 1991; vice-president).

AWARDS, HONORS: Dromkeen Medal, 1983, for services to children's literature; Rotary International Award, 1986, for vocational excellence; Lady Cutler Award, 1989, for services to children's literature; Australian School Library Association citation, 1991; Order of Australia, 1995; Nan Chauncy Award, Children's Book Council of Australia, 2002, for contributions to Australian children's literature.

WRITINGS:

A History of Australian Children's Literature, 1841–1941 (criticism), Wentworth Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1969.

A History of Australian Children's Literature, 1941–1970 (criticism), Wentworth Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1971.

Teaching the New English in Primary Schools (nonfiction), Novak (Australia), 1974.

Through Folklore to Literature (criticism), International Board on Books for Young People Australia Publications (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1977.

When Johnny and Judy Don't Read (nonfiction), Primary English Teaching Association (Australia), 1978.

Children and Literature (criticism), University of Sydney Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1978.

(Editor, with Gordon Winch) Give Them Wings: The Experience of Children's Literature (criticism), Macmillan (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1987, 2nd edition, 1991.

(Editor, with Glenys Smith) Dimensions, eighteen volumes, Methuen (London, England), 1988–89.

The Great Deeds of Superheroes, illustrated by Robert Ingpen, Millennium Books (Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia), 1989, Peter Bedrick Books (New York, NY), 1990.

The Great Deeds of Heroic Women, illustrated by Robert Ingpen, Millennium Books (Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia), 1990, Peter Bedrick Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Russell and the Star Shell (fiction), illustrated by Astra Lacis, Margaret Hamilton Books (Australia), 1990.

First Choice: A Guide to the Best Books for Australian Children, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1991.

The Proof of the Puddin': Australian Children's Literature, 1970–1990 (criticism), Ashton Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

Puffins for Parents: A Guide Book, the Best in Children's Reading, Penguin (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 1993.

Children's Literature: What to Look For in a Primary Reading Program, Macmillan (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1994.

Books in the Life of a Child: Bridges to Literature and Learning (criticism), Macmillan (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1997.

The Millennium Book of Myth and Story, Millennium Books (Alexandria, New South Wales, Australia), 1997.

Offered to Children: A History of Australian Children's Literature, 1841–1941 (criticism), Scholastic Australia (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1998.

Images of Australia: A History of Australian Children's Literature, 1941–1970 (criticism), Scholastic Australia (Gosford, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Also author of Russell and the Highwayman, Margaret Hamilton Books (Australia). Contributor of reviews to Literature Base, Magpies, Papers, Reading Time, and other periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS: "Maurice Saxby is considered, by those involved with Australian children's literature, as the foremost commentator on, and critic of, the field," according to John Foster in Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services. In a career spanning almost forty years, Saxby has explored almost every aspect of the relationship between children and books, ranging from "the emotional relationship between children at various stages of development and books," according to Val van Putten in the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, to the impact books have on children's developing linguistic skills, to "every aspect of every literary genre, with many examples, and all the aforementioned carefully related to the age and stage of development … of the intended readership."

Saxby's studies of children's literature include Books in the Life of a Child: Bridges to Literature and Learning, a book praised by van Putten for "the detailed information it provides for teachers on the nature of the books available, with many specific examples ranging from the classics to the most current of children's literature." Saxby also, van Putten and Foster both noted, does not hesitate to make value judgments about the relative merits of books. In Books in the Life of a Child, Foster declared, "the depth of the author's knowledge is fully apparent, and the reader is taken through such differing topics as secondary worlds in fantasy, the stages of development in a child's sense of humour, and the criteria for selecting works of nonfiction, all given the author's insights and, frequently, an unashamedly personal point of view." Foster believed that with Books in the Life of a Child, "Saxby has produced a book which covers not merely Australian children's literature, but the whole world of children's literature in a personal and readable style."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services, March, 1998, John Foster, review of Books in the Life of a Child: Bridges to Literature and Learning, p. 50.

Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, June, 1998, Val van Putten, review of Books in the Life of a Child, p. 176.

Booklist, January 15, 1993, Leone McDermott, review of The Great Deeds of Heroic Women, p. 888.

Canadian Children's Literature, winter, 2001, Carole H. Carpenter, "Reflections on Australian Children's Literature: An Interview with Maurice Saxby," pp. 47-60.

Horn Book, March-April, 1995, Karen Jameyson, review of The Proof of the Puddin': Australian Children's Literature, 1970–1990, p. 239.

Reading Teacher, October, 1992, Barbara Tobin, review of The Great Deeds of Superheroes, p. 146.

School Library Journal, March, 1991, JoAnn Rees, review of The Great Deeds of Superheroes, p. 225; December, 1992, Ruth K. MacDonald, review of The Great Deeds of Heroic Women, p. 142; April, 1999, Marlyn K. Roberts, review of Books in the Life of a Child, p. 43.