Introduction

Carter G. Woodson Voki

"Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history" 
- Carter G. Woodson, Father of Black History

Excerpts from An Interview with Russel Freedman -A Family of Readers (Sutton & Parravano, 2010)

 

"When you are writing a biography, you're trying to understand your subject in the same way that you try to understand one of your friends..."

 

"A biography for young people calls for the demanding art of distillation, the art of storytelling, and your responsibility is to stick as closely as possible to the documented record."

 

"[I think we read biographies] because we're all trying to learn how to live our lives.  We want to see how other people have lived and how they have overcome tough problems."

 

"A biography for young readers, if it's successful, is a feat of imaginative storytelling that is informed by the historical record."

 

"A children's biography doesn't have to be comprehensive, and it doesn't have to be definitive.  It does have to be accurate to the extent that's possible.  And most of all, it has to be a piece of literature, a compelling read.  I want the reader to discover the joy of reading."