Rappaport, Doreen

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RAPPAPORT, Doreen

Personal

Born in New York, NY; married to a painter and sculptor. Education: Brandeis University, B.A.

Addresses

Home— New York, NY, and Copake Falls, NY. Agent— c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd St., 7th Fl., New York, NY 10022. E-mail— [email protected].

Career

Teacher of music and reading in schools in New York and New Rochelle, NY, 1961-1968; teacher at a freedom school, McComb, MS, 1965; writer.

Awards, Honors

Gradiva Award Honor, National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and the World Association of Psychoanalysis, Best Book on Africa for Young Readers citation, African Studies Association, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing selection, New York Public Library, and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies citation, National Council on the Social Studies (NCSS), all for The New King; Carter G. Woodson Honor Book, and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, NCSS, both for The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa; Coretta Scott King Honor Book, American Library Association (ALA), and Notable Book selection, ALA, for Freedom River; Jane Addams Children's Book Award (picture book category), 2002, Children's Choice selection, International Reading Association, Orbis Pictus Honor Book, National Council of Teachers of English, Caldecott Honor Book, ALA, and Coretta Scott King Honor Book, ALA, and Notable Book selection, ALA, all for Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier; Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, Bank Street College of Education, Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies citation, NCSS, 100 Books to Read and Share selection, New York Public Library, Fanfare citation, Horn Book, Gold Award, Parents magazine, and Best Book of the Year citation, Child magazine, all for No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance; and Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies citations, NCSS, for Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom and We Are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians.

Writings

NONFICTION

(With Susan Kempler and Michele Spirn) A Man Can Be…, photographs by Russell Dian, Human Sciences Press (New York, NY), 1981.

Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom, illustrated by Charles Lilly, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1991.

(Editor) American Women: Their Lives in Their Words, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1990.

Living Dangerously: American Women Who Risked Their Lives for Adventure, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1991.

The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1997.

Freedom River, illustrated by Bryan Collier, Jump at the Sun (New York, NY), 2000.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, Jump at the Sun (New York, NY), 2001.

We Are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

(With Joan Verniero) Victory or Death! Stories of the American Revolution, illustrated by Greg Call, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.

Free at Last! Stories and Songs of Emancipation, illustrated by Shane W. Evans, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon, illustrated by Bryan Collier, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2004.

The School Is Not White! A True Story of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Curtis James, Jump at the Sun (New York, NY), 2004.

In the Promised Land: Lives of Jewish Americans, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, HarperCollins (New York, NY), in press.

Also creator of Freedom River, an animated video about the Underground Railroad, from Disney Educational Productions.

"BE THE JUDGE/BE THE JURY" SERIES; NONFICTION

The Lizzie Borden Trial, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

The Sacco-Vanzetti Trial, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

The Alger Hiss Trial, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Rights on Trial, Harper-Collins (New York, NY), 1993.

FICTION

"But She's Still My Grandma!," illustrated by Bernadette Simmons, Human Sciences Press (New York, NY), 1982.

Trouble at the Mines, illustrated by Joan Sandin, Crowell (New York, NY), 1987.

The Boston Coffee Party, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1988.

(Reteller) The Journey of Meng: A Chinese Legend, illustrated by Yang Ming-Yi, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1991.

(Reteller) The Long-Haired Girl: A Chinese Legend, illustrated by Yang Ming-Yi, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1995.

The New King, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Lyndall Callan) Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2000.

The Secret Seder, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Hyperion (New York, NY), in press.

Adaptations

Martin's Big Words was adapted as a video by Weston Woods (Norwalk, CT); Freedom River was adapted as a video by Disney Educational Productions.

Work in Progress

With Joan Verniero, United No More! Stories of the Civil War, for HarperCollins (New York, NY); Freedom Ship, illustrated by Curtis James, for Jump at the Sun; The "Keep Quiet" Girl: The Life of Eleanor Roosevelt, for Hyperion Books for Children; Nobody Gonna' Turn Me 'Round, illustrated by Shane Evans, for Candlewick Press; Lady Liberty: An Autobiography, for Candlewick Press.

Sidelights

Doreen Rappaport is the author of numerous nonfiction and historical fiction books for children which attempt to convey American and world history to children ages four to seventeen. As a young woman Rappaport was a music and reading teacher, first in the ethnically diverse New York City and New Rochelle public schools, and later in a Southern "freedom school" for African-American students. Teaching in the Freedom School in McComb, Mississippi, was what first inspired Rappaport to write about history. The African-Americans she met in Mississippi "were heroic" in their struggle to secure their rights, Rappaport wrote on her Web site. "I knew there had to be many more 'unknown heroes,' people who helped change history. I set out to recover and write about this 'lost' history."

Many of Rappaport's books draw heavily on primary sources and integrate historical figures' own words into the text. Rappaport and illustrator Shane W. Evans collaborated on one such trilogy, about the black experience in America from the kidnappings in Africa to the civil rights movement. In the first book of the trilogy, No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance, Rappaport uses this technique to tell the stories of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, slave rebellion leader Nat Turner, and other African Americans. In a few vignettes, Rappaport sticks less closely to history, creating composite characters and fictionalized accounts. "But the research is documented," Hazel Rochman noted in Booklist, so students who need factual information for reports can draw on Rappaport's bibliography. In addition to the narratives, Rappaport also uses folktales and songs which were told and sung by African Americans. The collection of actual and fictional narratives, stories, and songs forms "an excellent account of the many ways in which slaves participated in bringing down the greatest evil in our nation's history," thought a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

In the second book, Free at Last! Stories and Songs of Emancipation, Rappaport and illustrator Shane W. Evans "reprise the passion and power that informed" No More!, wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Free at Last! covers African-American culture from 1863 to 1954. Again, Rappaport tells the stories of famous African Americans (such as intellectual Booker T. Washington and baseball player Jackie Robinson) and some less-famous ones, interspersed with writings by African Americans (including gospel songs and Langston Hughes's famous poem "I, Too, Sing America"). As with No More!, the book includes an extensive bibliography and further reading list for children who are researching reports.

Moving to an earlier period of U.S. history, in Victory or Death! Stories of the American Revolution Rappaport and coauthor Joan Verniero tell the stories of eight famous and not-yet celebrated participants in the Revolutionary War. Although they cover such well-known figures as General George Washington and future first lady Abigail Adams, Rappaport and Verniero also write about multicultural figures on both sides, including Francis Salvador, a Jew from South Carolina who risked his life to rally his neighbors to the Patriot cause, and Grace Growden Galloway, a Philadelphia loyalist who attempted to defend her family's property from the rebellious Colonists. "Each chapter is very short and relies on vivid characterization," noted Booklist 's GraceAnne A. DeCandido, making it a good introduction to Revolutionary history for younger children. The narratives are arranged chronologically and "each story is set in its historical context," a critic commented in Kirkus Reviews, so "readers will learn a good deal of history and gain a sense of the ebb and flow of the war."

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is an atypical biography right from the start. Instead of the title and author information, the cover features nothing but a close-up portrait of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As in her other books, "the text is a mix of Rappaport's finely honed biographical narrative and appropriate quotes from King himself," explained Horn Book 's Mary M. Burns. Although the text is designed for early readers, with short, simple sentences, it still covers all of the major events in King's life, from his childhood as the son of a preacher in segregated Atlanta to his assassination. The title refers to the young King's determination to speak with big words just like his father did, but could also refer to the large-type font in which King's quotations are printed, noted reviewers. Martin's Big Words is "a stunning, reverent tribute" to Dr. King, concluded School Library Journal contributor Catherine Threadgill.

Based on a historical event but told through a fictional story, Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship offers readers an account of the 1946 championship game of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Formed in 1942, the league provided much-needed entertainment on the home front during and after World War II. In Dirt on Their Skirts, coauthored with Lyndall Callan, a young girl named Margaret watches the game from the stands with her mother, her brother, and her father, recently returned from the war. Finding Racine Belles second basewoman Sophie Kurys a favorite, Margaret is thrilled when Kurys steals second base and eventually slides into home to win the game, a tough play, as Margaret's mother comments, if you are wearing a skirt. "With its economy of language and telling period details, this book provides an exciting slice of sports history and an appealing bit of Americana," Luann Toth wrote in School Library Journal. A Publishers Weekly critic commended Rappaport for "judiciously using end matter to relate a historical overview of the league," information which is useful for children to understand the importance of the story. By relegating the historical facts to the afterword, the Publishers Weekly reviewer continued, Rappaport and Callan can "serve up a fan's view of the game."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, January-February, 2002, Clarence V. Reynolds, review of Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., p. 80.

Booklist, September 1, 1992, Hazel Rochman, review of The Lizzie Borden Trial, pp. 45-46; August, 1993, Janice Del Negro, review of Tinker vs. Des Moines: Student Rights on Trial, p. 2048; January 1, 1994, Hazel Rochman, review of The Alger Hiss Trial, p. 815; January 15, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of The Long-Haired Girl: A Chinese Legend, p. 933; May 1, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of The New King, pp. 1577-1578; July, 1997, Karen Hutt, review of The Flight of Red Bird: The Life of Zitkala-Sa, p. 1810; January 1, 2000, Todd Morning, review of Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship, p. 936; October 1, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of Freedom River, p. 341; October 1, 2001, Hazel Rochman, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 338; February 15, 2002, Hazel Rochman, review of No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance, p. 1033; October 15, 2002, Hazel Rochman, review of We Are the Many: A Picture Book of American Indians, pp. 408-409; June 1, 2003, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Victory or Death! Stories of the American Revolution, p. 1770; February 14, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Free at Last! Stories and Songs of Emancipation, p. 1076.

Book Report, January-February, 1994, Edna Boardman, review of Tinker vs. Des Moines, pp. 61-62.

Childhood Education, fall, 2002, Nancy S. Maldonado, review of Freedom River, pp. 63-64.

Horn Book, March-April, 1987, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of Trouble at the Mines, p. 212; September-October, 1988, Mary M. Burns, review of The Boston Coffee Party, pp. 623-624; March-April, 1991, Ellen Fader, review of American Women: Their Lives in Their Words, p. 219; November-December, 1991, Margaret A. Bush, review of The Journey of Meng: A Chinese Legend, pp. 748-749; January-February, 2002, Mary M. Burns, review of Martin's Big Words, pp. 105-106; March-April, 2002, Joanna Rudge Long, review of No More!, pp. 231-232.

Instructor, March, 1994, Judy Freeman, review of Living Dangerously: American Women Who Risked Their Lives for Adventure, p. 79.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2001, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 1120; January 1, 2002, review of No More!, p. 49; August 15, 2002, review of We Are the Many, p. 1233; April 1, 2003, review of Victory or Death!, p. 539; December 15, 2003, review of Free at Last!, p. 1454.

Language Arts, May, 2002, Mingshui Cai and Junko Yokata, review of No More!, p. 433; September, 2002, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 72.

New Yorker, November 26, 1990, Faith McNulty, review of American Women, p. 144.

New York Times Book Review, May 17, 1987, Lee Smith, review of Trouble at the Mines, p. 33; April 10, 1988, Elisabeth Griffith, review of The Boston Coffee Party, p. 39; January 13, 1991, Elizabeth Gleick, review of American Women, p. 21; November 18, 2001, James McMullan, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 47.

Publishers Weekly, April 10, 1987, review of Trouble at the Mines, p. 96; March 22, 1991, review of Escape from Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom, p. 81; August 30, 1991, review of The Journey of Meng, pp. 82-83; October 11, 1991, review of Living Dangerously, p. 64; February 27, 1995, review of The Long-Haired Girl, p. 103; June 12, 1995, review of The New King, pp. 60-61; March 27, 2000, review of Dirt on Their Skirts, p. 79; October 8, 2001, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 64; December 17, 2001, review of No More!, p. 91.

Reading Teacher, November, 2002, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 259.

Reading Today, February-March, 2002, Lynne T. Burke, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 32.

School Library Journal, April, 1987, Mary Beth Burgoyne, review of Trouble at the Mines, p. 102; May, 1988, Sylvia S. Marantz, review of The Boston Coffee Party, p. 87; February, 1991, Ruth K. MacDonald, review of American Women, p. 100; May, 1991, Elizabeth M. Reardon, review of Escape from Slavery, pp. 105-106; December, 1991, April L. Judge, review of Living Dangerously, p. 127, and John Philbrook, review of The Journey of Meng, pp. 126-127; January, 1993, Sylvia V. Meisner, review of The Lizzie Borden Trial, p. 120; March, 1993, Beth Tegart, review of The Sacco-Vanzetti Trial, p. 216; January, 1994, Doris A. Fong, review of Tinker vs. Des Moines, p. 128; February, 1994, Todd Morning, review of The Alger Hiss Trial, p. 128; March, 1995, Margaret A. Chang, review of The Long-Haired Girl, pp. 199-200; July, 1995, Donna L. Scanlon, review of The New King, p. 74; July, 1997, Lisa Mitten, review of The Flight of the Red Bird, p. 111; March, 2000, Luann Toth, review of Dirt on Their Skirts, p. 212; October, 2000, Cynde Marcengill, review of Freedom River, p. 152; October, 2001, Catherine Threadgill, review of Martin's Big Words, p. 146; February, 2002, Ginny Gustin, review of No More!, p. 150; September, 2002, Anne Chapman Callaghan, review of We Are the Many, p. 217; June, 2003, Jean Gaffney, review of Victory or Death!, p. 168; February, 2004, Tracy Bell, review of Free at Last!, p. 168.