• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 6
• Reading age: 8 to 9

Ruth Gruber didn't want to live an ordinary life, and she wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Born to a Jewish American family in 1911, she grew up to become a renowned journalist and activist. Her career spanned seven decades and led her to places that other reporters wouldn't or couldn't go, from Nazi Germany to the remote Arctic regions of the Soviet Union. At a time when women were expected to stay at home and raise families, Ruth told the stories of people in need and fought for their rights to live in safety and freedom.

Rona Arato is a children’s author with a strong interest in human rights. As a writer and editor for over twenty years, she has written on a wide variety of subjects including education, business, travel, fashion and Internet technology. Her work has appeared in mag-azines and newspapers in Canada, the United States, and England. Rona is the author of Fossils, Clues to Ancient Life and World of Water (Crabtree, 2004) and Ice Cream Town (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2007). Her new books include Working for Freedom: The Story of Josiah Henson for Napoleon (Fall 2008), Making a Difference for Maple Tree Press (Fall 2008), and Design It! for Tundra Books (Spring 2009). Rona began writing in the mid 1970s while raising her three children. She has also worked as a public relations consultant for profit and non-profit. She has taught adult Creative Writing for the Toronto District Board and conducted business writing workshops for profit and non-profit organizations in the Toronto area. She has written educational materials for organizations including Mosdos Press in Cleveland, Girl Guides of Canada, and B’nai Brith Canada. From 1994-1998, Rona had the privilege of serving as an interviewer for Survivors of the Shoa, a Steven Spielberg project that recorded the histories of Holocaust survivors. It was this experience that fostered her interest in and desire to write about human rights. Rona discovered Josiah Henson’s story while researching a project on Canadian heroes. She was immediately taken with his strength and courage in the face of seemingly insur-mountable obstacles. His dedication to human rights and freedom spoke to her heart and she hopes that his story will affect others, especially youth, in the same way it has affected her.

Rona Arato's profile page

Isabel Muñoz is an artist and a children's book illustrator. She is a Fine Arts graduate from Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Spain. Isabel works from a tiny colorful studio in the north of Spain.

Isabel Muñoz's profile page

"Nothing will stop readers from turning pages in this engrossing biography. . .Reading cleanly, the short, engaging chapters move swiftly, capturing history's humanity in a personal, enriching way."—Children's Literature

"This enthusiastic biography charmingly depicts the commitment and tenacity of this intrepid explorer-journalist." —Shelf Awareness