When it came time for IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) to find a new Australian judge to the Hans Christian Andersen Award, it made sense to appoint self-confessed "picture book fanatic" Robin Morrow.
Dr Morrow established NSW's first child-focused literature store, The Children's Bookshop in Beecroft, in 1971. She ran it for 25 years.
Also involved in publishing and as a book reviewer for many years, she now teaches children's literature universities here and abroad.
But it is her latest role as Australia's IBBY judge that will see her make a wider contribution to children's literature around the world.
The judging panel recognises the lifelong achievement of a children's author and illustrator every two years. "Being on this jury is a big challenge. What we're judging is the life achievement of writing and illustration," she said.
International Children's Book Day was started to commemorate the birth of Hans Christian Andersen in Denmark on April 2, 1805.
"He was born into terrible poverty," Dr Morrow said. "I think he was always hungry as a kid and I think he made up all these fantastic, imaginary worlds and went to Copenhagen to try to be an actor on the stage - he was very ambitious."
IBBY was established in the 1940s by journalist Jella Lepman, who was sent to Germany to work with women and children by the occupying American forces.
"She had the great insight to see the children needed stories and books and so she appealed to other countries to send them books for a starting library. It's now the International Youth Library in Munich," Dr Morrow said.
The board's aim is to bring children and books together. "The main metaphor for the (board's) work is bridges of books from one language to another, from one country to another. We build bridges through children's books."
More recently, IBBY Italy began collecting the best wordless picture books for refugee children arriving at the island of Lampedusa.
IBBY's Fund for Children in Crisis Fund started after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The board's Indonesian president travelled to stricken areas and taught people how to read stories to traumatised children.
After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, IBBY Australia helped pay for library vans that could drive on rubble to visit children not allowed to go outside.
"They went in with librarians and storytellers to the children and it was the most wonderful thing. They even got children to tell them their favourite book that they had lost, because they'd lost everything, and they would try to get the actual book to that place. It's goosebumpy stuff."
Dr Morrow's love of books started when her mother read to her as a child, but it was an "amazing English teacher" who fired up her passion for the genre.
"My theory is behind every keen book person there is someone. Sometimes it will be a bookseller or a librarian or a teacher or an aunt or a grandparent; somebody who just gives books, or drags you into the library.
"It's as important as it's ever been for children to have books and stories. Tactile paper books are important, especially for babies and toddlers. They need to have the drama of turning the pages and examine the end papers.
"Fortunately, a lot of people are realising paper books are important. We have to fight to retain librarians in schools and the libraries people have access to so every kid has access to books."
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