David A. Adler
author of fiction and nonfiction books for young readers

Booklist
Gr. 5-7. Adler follows up his well-received B. Franklin, Printer (2001) with an equally perceptive study of another iconic figure. Distilling major scholarship from the previous two centuries, he does nothing to tarnish Washington's reputation. Yes, he owned slaves, had a fiery temper, and exhibited such stingy ways that he sometimes drove his steward to tears, but he was also a canny, courageous, natural leader who learned from his mistakes, struggled with self-doubt, and held views toward slavery that were, for the time, moderate. Adler enhances his profile with a coherent, if distant, account of the Revolutionary War, small illustrations of many of the people and places he mentions, generous extracts from period letters or news accounts (in an evocatively battered looking typeface), capsule biographies of Washington's generals and cabinet members, and, finally, discursive endnotes and meaty resource lists. Marrin's George Washington and the Founding of a Nation (2001) features more rousing accounts of battles, but this offers clear views of Washington's public and private lives as well as sharp insights into his character and his times. John Peters
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I've always been a dreamer . . . A few years ago I was at Open School Night for my middle son. His fourth-grade teacher was the same one my eldest son had had seven years earlier and the same teacher I had had some time in the 1950s. The teacher looked at me, smiled, and then told the roomful of parents, "A long time ago, when I had just started teaching, David was in my class." She smiled again and said, "I went to the principal and asked, 'What should I do with Adler? He's always dreaming.' 'Leave him alone,' the principal answered. 'Maybe one day he'll be a writer.'"
That's her story, not mine. But I know I did dream through much of my early school years and I did become a writer. Dreamers become writers, and, for me, being a published writer is a dream come true.
I write both fiction and nonfiction. I begin my fiction with the main character. The story comes later. Of course, since I'll be spending a lot of time with each main character, why not have him or her be someone I like? Cam Jansen is based on an elementary school classmate whom we all envied because we thought he had a photographic memory. Andy Russell is based on a beloved member of my family.
For my books of nonfiction I write about subjects I find interesting. The recent biographies I've written are about Benjamin Franklin, Janusz Korczak, Dwight David Eisenhower, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lou Gehrig, Joe Louis, Lewis and Clark, Martin Luther King, Jr.,and George Washington Carver.
When I write, I try not to worry about each word, or even each sentence or paragraph. For me, books evolve. I rewrite each sentence, each manuscript, many times. And I work with my editors. I look forward to their suggestions, their help in the almost endless rewrite process.