Rhoda Blumberg was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York on December 14, 1917. She received a B.A. degree from Adelphi University in New York. After graduation, she worked as a freelance writer, researcher, and producer for both CBS Radio and NBC Radio, a talent scout for Simon and Schuster, and wrote features for several national publications. She got married in 1945 and spent more than 20 years raising their four children.
In 1973, she worked as executive editor of Simon and Schuster's travel guides. She soon decided to try writing children's nonfiction. Her first book, Firefighters, was published in 1975. She wrote more than 25 nonfiction books over the next 30 years. Her books included The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark, The Great American Gold Rush, The Remarkable Voyages of Captain Cook, Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy, and York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition. Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun was awarded a 1986 Newbery Honor and won the Boston-Globe-Horn Book Award and the Golden Kite Award. She received the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for her overall contribution to nonfiction. She also collaborated on several books with illustrator Murray Tinkelman including The Truth About Dragons and Backyard Bestiary. She died on June 6, 2016 at the age of 98.
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