But then when I was a junior and showed my English teacher some of my stories, he advised me to forget about becoming an author. That was when I realized that if I wanted to become an author I couldn't live and die by other people's opinions but should do it out of my own desire and need to write." Attending Northwestern University, Fradin majored in creative writing, and went on to do graduate study at the University of Illinois. While in college, he married Judith Bloom, herself a writer and English teacher, and from 1968 to 1979, he worked as an elementary school teacher in the Chicago public schools.
Turns from Teaching to Writing
While working as a school teacher Fradin finally began to use his writing skills, penning six titles in the "Words and Pictures" series before giving up teaching to become a full-time writer. In these series titles Fradin provides a brief history of each state blended with geography and travelogue in forty-eight pages of text and pictures. Reviewing several titles in the series, Gail L. Gunnesh commented in School Library Journal that "the books are easy to follow and comprehend (color photographs and maps help), and there is no other series for beginning readers." Reviewing the Spanish-language version of the books on California and Texas in the same series, another reviewer for School Library Journal reiterated the fact that Fradin's books are unique for not only the age group but also the language group.
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