Russell Freedman
Russell A. Freedman was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be best known for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography.
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
Cowboys of the Wild West, 1985Lincoln: A Photobiography, 1987Indian Chiefs, 1987Buffalo Hunt, 1988Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1990The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane, 1991An Indian Winter, 1992Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, 1993Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor, 1994Immigrant Kids, 1995The Life and Death of Crazy Horse, 1996Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille, 1997Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life, 1998Babe Didrikson Zaharias: The Making of a Champion, 1999Give Me Liberty: The Story of The Declaration of Independence, 2000Children of the Wild West, 2000Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights, 2004100 People Who Changed America, 2004Children of the Great Depression, 2005The Adventures of Marco Polo, 2006Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 2006Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas, 2007Washington at Valley Forge, 2008The War to End All Wars: World War I, 2010Lafayette and the American Revolution, 2010Awards
In 1998 Freedman received the Children's Literature Legacy Award 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
Source:Lincoln: A Photobiography
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee – 1989–90
- ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults
- 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
- Western Heritage Award – 1995
- Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Nonfiction Honor Book – 1984
- Carter G. Woodson Book Award – 1989
- Spur Award – Best Western Juvenile Fiction – 1996
- ALA Notable Book
- New York Academy of Science Annual Children's Book Award Honorable Mention