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 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

Awards

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

Lincoln: A Photobiography 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 The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights