Russell Freedman
Russell A. Freedman (born 1929 in San Francisco) is an American biogapher and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be know best for wining the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography.[1]
Biography
Books were an important part of Freedman's childhood. His father worked for a publishing company, and his mother worked in a bookstore.
He attended college first at San Jose State University and then University of California at Berkeley, where he graduated with a degree in English Literature. After college, Freedman was drafted into the armed forces and served in the Korean War, for the United States. He now has family living in Alabama, where his sister's family settled to in 1978.
After his return from war, Freedman worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press in San Francisco until the mid-1950s, when he took an advertising job in Manhattan. It was during this time that Freedman wrote his first novel after reading an article about a blind teenage boy who invented a Braille typewriter. The book, Teenagers Who Made History, was published in 1961. After its publication, Freedman quit his job and became a full time writer.[2]
As a writer of children's nonfiction, Freedman is often noted for his thorough research, and was praised for his "meticulous integration of words and images"[3]
Freedman currently lives in New York City.
Selected works
- Children of the Great Depression, 2005
- Children of the Wild West, 2000
- Cowboys of the Wild West, 1985
- Lincoln: A Photobiography, 1987
- Indian Chiefs, 1987
- Buffalo Hunt, 1988
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990
- The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane, 1991
- An Indian Winter, 1992
- Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, 1993
- Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor, 1994
- Immigrant Kids, 1995
- The Life and Death of Crazy Horse, 1996
- Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, 1997
- Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life, 1998
- Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion, 1999
- Give Me Liberty: The Story of The Declaration of Independence, 2000
- Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, 2004
- 100 People Who Changed America, 2004
- The Adventures of Marco Polo, 2006.
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2006
- Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas, 2007
- Washington at Valley Forge, 2008
- The War to End All Wars: World War I, 2010
- Lafayette and the American Revolution, 2010
Awards
In 1998 Freedman received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the professional children's librarians, which recognizes a living author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made "a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children". At the time it was awarded every three years.[4]
He received one of the 2007 National Humanities Medals.[5]
Books[6]
- Newbery Medal Winner - 1988
- Fairfax County Public Library Booklist Jefferson Cup - 1988
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1989-90
- ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
- Newbery Honor Book - 1994
- Jane Addams Children's Book Award Honor Book - 1994
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award - 1994
- Golden Kite Award - 1993
- First Flora Stieglitz Straus Award - 1994
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1995-96
- Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee - 1996
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
- Newbery Honor Book - 1992
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award - 1991
- Golden Kite Award - 1991
- Fairfax County Public Library Booklist Jefferson Cup - 1992
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1993-94
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Golden Kite Award - 1994
- Orbis Pictus Award - 1991
- Best of the Best: Children's Literature Award - 1993-94
- Fairfax County Public Library Booklist Jefferson Cup - 1991
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1992-93
Indian Chiefs
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1989-90
- ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults
Kids At Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor
- Jane Addams Children's Book Award Winner - 1995
- Golden Kite Award - 1994
- Parents Choice Award - 1994
- Orbis Pictus Honors Book - 1995
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee - 1996-97
- Utah Children's Information Book Award Nominee - 1996-97
An Indian Winter
- Western Heritage Award - 1995
Children of the Wild West
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nonfiction Honor Book - 1984
Buffalo Hunt
- Carter G. Woodson Book Award - 1989
The Life and Death of Crazy Horse
- Spur Award - Best Western Juvenile Fiction - 1996
Immigrant Kids
- ALA Notable Book
Getting Born
- New York Academy of Science Annual Children's Book Award Honorable Mention
See also
References
- ^
"Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". ALSC. ALA.
"The John Newbery Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-11. - ^ "Russell Freedman". ASTAL - Rhode Island College. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ^ Scheuerman, Daniel. "AWARDS & HONORS: 2007 NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDALIST Russell Freedman". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ^
"Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, Past winners". Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). American Library Association (ALA).
"About the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-11. - ^ "6 Academics Receive National Honors in Arts and Humanities", Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 16, 2007. summary
- ^ "Russell Freedman". ASTAL - Rhode Island College. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
External links
- Russell Freedman at Library of Congress, with 62 library catalog records
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