Eleanor Farjeon

Born in London in 1881, Eleanor Farjeon grew up in a lively literary family and went on to write across an impressive range of forms, including children’s stories, plays, poetry, biography, history, and satire. Readers and critics especially admired the imaginative quality of her children’s writing, which often brought magic into everyday life without ever becoming overly sentimental.

She is widely remembered for The Little Bookroom, the collection that won both the Carnegie Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and for writing the words to the hymn Morning Has Broken. Her career also included collaborations with illustrators such as Edward Ardizzone, and her work helped shape 20th-century children’s literature in Britain.

Farjeon died in 1965, but her reputation has lasted well beyond her lifetime. The annual Eleanor Farjeon Award, created in her memory, reflects the lasting affection and respect her work inspired among writers, librarians, teachers, and generations of young readers.