Russell Freedman


Russell A. Freedman was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work .

Biography

Books were an important part of Freedman's life. His father worked for a company, and his mother worked in a bookstore.
He attended college first at San Jose State University
Later, 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.
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"
Freedman lived in New York City.

Selected works

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.
He received one of the 2007 National Humanities Medals.
Freedman received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award in 2005 for The Voice that Challenged a Nation and in 2007 for Freedom Walkers.

Books


Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Indian Chiefs
Kids At Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor
An Indian Winter
Children of the Wild West
Buffalo Hunt
The Life and Death of Crazy Horse
Immigrant Kids
Getting Born