IN
David A. Adler was born in New York City and received his B.A. from
Queens College in New York City in 1968. He has been the senior
editor of books for young readers at a publishing house. He is the
author of more than 160 books for young readers. Alexandra Wallner
has written and illustrated a number of books about famous literary
and historical figures, including An Alcott Family Christmas and
Beatrix Potter. She lives in Maine with her husband, illustrator
John Wallner.
John Wallner has illustrated many titles in David A. Adler's
Picture Book Biography series. He lives in Maine.
Gr 1-3-- While the Wallners' bright, line-and-watercolor pictures will appeal to younger readers, Adler's text is disappointing and at times frustrating; the simple language is often at odds with the more complex story it is trying to convey. Some of the incidents in Nightingale's life are poorly explained, without giving the necessary historical background for children to understand the events fully. It's unlikely that eight-year-olds will understand what exactly Florence detested about being the `` . . . same sort of wife her mother was, . . . `` `making society and arranging domestic things' '' or the importance of her being presented to Queen Victoria. When readers are told that England ``. . . joined in the Crimean War against Russia'' most won't know who they joined or why. There are also puzzling gaps in Nightingale's religious development and her transition from a sheltered Victorian girl to an unconventional, strong-minded woman who transformed her profession and set the standards for modern nursing. As a result, she sounds merely eccentric, even mysterious. A better title, geared to slightly older readers, is Dorothy Turner's Florence Nightingale (Watts, 1986; o.p.). --Cyrisse Jaffee, Newton Public Schools, MA6
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