For many years Rhoda Blumberg has written outstanding nonfiction books for children. Born on December 14, 1917 in New York City, she is a graduate of Adelphi College. She and her husband Gerald are the parents of four children. Her daughter, Leda, also writes nonfiction books.
Rhoda Blumberg began her career as a writer and researcher back in the 1940's when she researched and wrote radio scripts as part of her job. This must have been good experience in developing her abilities as a storyteller. Writing books came next. In 1980 she wrote First Travel Guide to the Moon: What to Pack, How to Go, and What to See When You Get There, a book for children. This book was followed by The First Travel Guide to the Bottom of the Sea in 1983. Science educators have selected both books for best books lists.
Blumberg's books continue to receive awards. In 1986, her book, Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun, won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was selected as a Newbery Honor Book. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators also honored her with the Golden Kite Award in nonfiction for that book. The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark was a Golden Kite Honor Book and a School Library Journal Best Book. Her book, Great American Goldrush, received the John and Patricia Beatty Award and an Orbis Pictus Award for Nonfiction Honor Book in 1990 and Full Steam Ahead was an Honor Book for Orbis Pictus Award for Nonfiction.
Rhoda and her husband, Gerald, live in Yorktown Heights, New York.
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