Roni Schotter

F is for Freedom Roni Schotter

Brief Description: When ten-year-old Manda interrupts a midnight delivery, she discovers her parents' involvement in the Underground Railroad and makes her own contribution to a fugitive slave's freedom. Publisher Marketing: "Reading is freedom," Hannah's mother tells her. "The thoughts in books are powerful strong, stronger even than chains," her father says. When ten-year-old Amanda hears noises in the night, she sneaks downstairs and discovers her house is a stop on the Underground Railroad! During the brief time that Hannah, a runaway slave, hides out in Amanda's house, the two girls become fast friends. Hannah tells Amanda how she intends to be free in EVERY way--including the freedom that comes from knowing how to read and write. Risking everything, Amanda impulsively decides to help. Crackling with suspense, this moving, accessible story says much about the power of friendship and the power of literacy. Review Citations:

Kirkus Review - Children 10/15/2000 pg. 1491 (EAN 9780789426413, Hardcover)

School Library Journal 12/01/2000 pg. 125 (EAN 9780789426413, Hardcover)

New York Times 04/15/2001 pg. 24 (EAN 9780789426413, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2000 pg. 79 (EAN 9780789426413, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 79 (EAN 9780789426413, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Schotter, Roni I was born in New York City and lived in an apartment building called "The House of Joyful Living." On the roof there was an outdoor shower, a goldfish pond, some potted trees, a handball court, and a hawk's eye view of the buildings around us - including the Empire State Building. With a mama and a papa all to myself, it seemed that we lived in paradise. Then my two sisters were born and we moved to an apartment in Brooklyn - no goldfish pond, but from the six-story roof I could see the Statue of Liberty lifting its torch to me and the tall, gray smokestack of the nearby Pilgrim Laundry. When I was nine, my parents brought out a wooden puzzle map of the United States and tried to show my sisters and I where we were moving. They couldn't because the tiniest piece was missing - Rhode Island. I grew up in Rhode Island, enjoying my new backyard where we grew one of everything - a pea plant, a tomato plant, a gladiolus, etc. I loved being only minutes away from the ocean. Eating "Johnny cakes" and clams. I was always terribly shy and spent a great deal of time observing people and the beauty around me, storing it up, for I never guessed that I'd end up being a writer. Now that I'm an adult and a writer, I still feel like a child. In fact, I often feel like someone impersonating a grownup, so it's far easier for me to write for children than to write for adults. Life is full of so many wonderful things - happy, sad, amazing, puzzling, beautiful and ugly things. Writing helps me to figure out the world. I love the power of words and how powerful I feel when I use them the right way. I intensely value imagination and worry that many children have it knocked out of them as they grow up and are exposed to life, mass culture, and the media. I love using my imagination when I write. I feel I am speaking very directly to my children. To me, children are the best!