Russell A. Freedman (October 11, 1929 – March 16, 2018) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

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 San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

Later, Freedman worked as a reporter and editor for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

until the mid-1950s, when he took an advertising job in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. It was during this time that Freedman wrote his first novel after reading an article about a blind teenage boy who invented a

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Selected works

* ''Cowboys of the Wild West'', 1985 * '' Lincoln: A Photobiography'', 1987 * ''Indian Chiefs'', 1987 * ''Buffalo Hunt'', 1988 * ''

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

'', 1990 * ''The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane'', 1991 * ''An Indian Winter'', 1992 * ''

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

: A Life of Discovery'', 1993 * ''Kids at Work:

Lewis Hine Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 – November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and muckraker photographer. His photographs were instrumental in bringing about the passage of the first child labor laws in the United States. Early life ...

and the Crusade Against Child Labor'', 1994 * ''Immigrant Kids'', 1995 * ''The Life and Death of

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by wh ...

'', 1996 * ''Out of Darkness: The Story of

Louis Braille Louis Braille (; ; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system, named braille after him, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtua ...

'', 1997 * ''

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

: A Dancer's Life'', 1998 * ''

Babe Didrikson Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Ol ...

: The Making of a Champion'', 1999 * ''Give Me Liberty: The Story of The Declaration of Independence'', 2000 * ''Children of the Wild West'', 2000 * ''

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

and the Struggle for Equal Rights'', 2004 * '' 100 People Who Changed America'', 2004 * ''Children of the Great Depression'', 2005 * ''The Adventures of

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'', 2006 * ''Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott'', 2006 * ''Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas,'' 2007 * ''Washington at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

'', 2008 * ''The War to End All Wars:

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

'', 2010 * ''

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

and the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

'', 2010

Awards

In 1998 Freedman received the

Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal The Children's Literature Legacy Award (known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal until 2018) is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers or illustrat ...

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 Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...

s. Freedman received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award in 2005 for ''The Voice that Challenged a Nation'' and in 2007 for ''Freedom Walkers''.

Books

'' Lincoln: A Photobiography'' *

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 The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a ...

– 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 *

– 1991 *Fairfax County Public Library Booklist Jefferson Cup – 1992 *William Allen White Children's Book Award Nominee – 1993–94 ''Franklin Delano Roosevelt'' *

– 1994 *

Orbis Pictus Award The Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children recognizes books which demonstrate excellence in the "writing of nonfiction for children." It is awarded annually by the National Council of Teachers of English to one American book p ...

– 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 *

– 1994 *Parents Choice Award – 1994 *

Orbis Pictus ''Orbis Pictus'', or ''Orbis Sensualium Pictus'' (''Visible World in Pictures''), is a textbook for children written by Czech educator John Amos Comenius and published in 1658. It was the first widely used children's textbook with pictures, ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman, Russell 1929 births 2018 deaths American non-fiction children's writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers Carter G. Woodson Book Award winners Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal winners National Humanities Medal recipients Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal winners Newbery Medal winners Newbery Honor winners