Russell Freedman

Russell A. Freedman (October 11, 1929 – March 16, 2018) 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 Lincoln: A Photobiography.[1]

For those of a similar name, see Russell Freeman (disambiguation).

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.[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 lived in New York City.

Selected works

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]

Freedman received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award in 2005 for The Voice that Challenged a Nation and in 2007 for Freedom Walkers.[6]

Books[2]

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

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

References
  1. "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present". ALSC. ALA.
      "The John Newbery Medal". ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2013-06-11.
  2. "Russell Freedman". ASTAL - Rhode Island College. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  3. Scheuerman, Daniel. "AWARDS & HONORS: 2007 NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDALIST Russell Freedman". National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  4. "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.
  5. "6 Academics Receive National Honors in Arts and Humanities", Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 16, 2007. summary
  6. "Carter G. Woodson Book Award and Honor Winners". National Council for the Social Studies. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
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