Her books explore a wide range of issues, including Australian history, religion, autism, bigotry, materialism and alienation.
[2] Me and Jeshua and The Family Book of Mary Claire received CBCA commendations, and Seventh Pebble won the Ethel Turner prize.
In 1999, Eleanor Spence received the Australia Council for the Arts Emeritus award for her outstanding and livelong contribution to Australian literature.
Eleanor Spence was one of the first authors for older children to include issues such as disability, prejudice and homosexuality in her books.
In Time to go Home Rowan's decision to coach an Aboriginal boy to play his beloved Rugby Union leads to trouble.
"[10] "Eleanor Spence: Observer of Family Life" in Innocence and Experience: Essays on Contemporary Australian Children's Writers (1981), by Walter McVitty, pp 67–98.
"Eleanor Spence is a writer with whose work increased familiarity breeds content—beyond the apparent blandness a richly rewarding experience awaits the reader who is prepared to give it the close attention it deserves."