Elisa Carbone

Photo © 2005 Sharon Natoli

“Novels are teaching tools. While the imagination is entertained, the brain absorbs all sorts of information about human nature, history, or how to make guacamole. That’s the fun of writing—I get to teach and entertain at the same time.”—Elisa Carbone

Elisa Carbone’s historical novel Stealing Freedom was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Elisa Carbone used to teach in the Speech Communications department at the University of Maryland, but now she is enjoying being a full-time writer and part-time rock climber, windsurfer, and white-water kayaker. “The physical exertion of the sports balances out the mental exertion of writing,” she says. She loves doing the research required to write historical fiction and is fascinated by the small details of everyday life in the past. Ms. Carbone’s “Sarah” books (Starting School with an Enemy and Sarah and the Naked Truth) have been praised for their accessibility to reluctant readers.

AUTHOR FUN FACTS

Born: January 2 in Washington, DC

Previous jobs: Taught in the Speech Communications department at the University of Maryland. Before that, I’d been a dance teacher and taught piano and guitar lessons.

Inspiration for writing: Things that make me laugh and fascinating stories from the past that have not yet been told.

Favorite foods: Baked potatoes (boring, huh?)

Favorite clothes to wear: Sweatpants with T-shirts in the summer and a sweater in the winter—and sandals all year round!

Favorite colors: Purple! I wear purple virtually every day, and even buy purple climbing ropes and paint my toenails purple.

Favorite books: Any book that makes me laugh or is beautifully written.


PRAISE


STEALING FREEDOM
“Imaginatively and sensitively adapted from the historical records, this portrait will evoke admiration for the courage of both those who resisted slavery and those who endured it.”—Starred, Publishers Weekly

“This historical novel combines the appeal of exciting escape adventure with authentic details of the time and place. Carbone’s research is meticulous.”—Booklist

SARAH AND THE NAKED TRUTH
“The spunky ten-year-old heroine of Starting School with an Enemy is back, and she’s welcome.”—Kirkus Reviews

STARTING SCHOOL WITH AN ENEMY
“This middle-grade novel belongs at the head of its class.”—Starred, Publishers Weekly

“Will keep even reluctant readers hooked until the end.”—School Library Journal

Author Bookshelf
		Last Dance on Holladay Street Written by Elisa Carbone eBook The year is 1878, and 13-year-old Eva has lost all the family she’s ever known. Eva feels like an orphan—but she’s not. Sadie Lewis, the woman who gave her up at birth, is alive and well in Denver. And Eva sets out to find her, carrying only an address on a... Read More
		Last Dance on Holladay Street Written by Elisa Carbone Hardcover The year is 1878, and 13-year-old Eva has lost all the family she’s ever known. Eva feels like an orphan—but she’s not. Sadie Lewis, the woman who gave her up at birth, is alive and well in Denver. And Eva sets out to find her, carrying only an address on a... Read More
		Night Running Written by Elisa Carbone Illustrated by Earl B. Lewis Hardcover It's 1838, and James has made a secret plan to escape Master Graham’s farm–and slavery. James tells his dog Zeus he has to stay behind: he’s simply too noisy to bring along on a dangerous nighttime journey. But when two white men capture James soon after he runs, he’s grateful his... Read More
		Night Running Written by Elisa Carbone Illustrated by Earl B. Lewis Hardcover Library Binding It's 1838, and James has made a secret plan to escape Master Graham’s farm–and slavery. James tells his dog Zeus he has to stay behind: he’s simply too noisy to bring along on a dangerous nighttime journey. But when two white men capture James soon after he runs, he’s grateful his... Read More
		Stealing Freedom Written by Elisa Carbone Trade Paperback Inspired by a true story, the riveting novel of a young slave girl's harrowing escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The moment Ann Maria Weems was born, her freedom was stolen from her. Like her family and the other slaves on the farm, Ann works from sunup to sundown and obeys... Read More
		Stealing Freedom Written by Elisa Carbone eBook Twelve-year-old Ann Maria Weems works from sunup to sundown, wraps rags around her feet in the winter, and must do whatever her master or mistress orders--but she has something that many plantation slaves don't have. She has her wonderful family around her. To Ann, her teasing brothers, her older sister, and... Read More
		Storm Warriors Written by Elisa Carbone Trade Paperback Driven from his home by the Ku Klux Klan and still reeling from the death of his mother, Nathan moves with his father and grandfather to the desolate Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to start a new life. Fortunately, life on Pea Island at the end of... Read More
		Storm Warriors Written by Elisa Carbone eBook Driven from his home by the Ku Klux Klan and still reeling from the death of his mother, Nathan moves with his father and grandfather to the desolate Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to start a new life. Fortunately, life on Pea Island at the end of... Read More