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Author Inspires Lower Schoolers

3/1/2016

Prolific author David Adler enthralled Collegiate Lower Schoolers today with a reading of his very first book and encouraged them to consider themselves writers.

The scribe of more than 250 books for children and young adults, including the popular Cam Jansen mystery series, he visited Richmond through a partnership between Collegiate and two Henrico County elementary schools – Tuckahoe Elementary and Nuckols Farm Elementary.

Mr. Adler spent the entire day at Collegiate today, meeting with JK-4th Graders to share his experiences with writing fiction. He also read from his book A Little At A Time, and invited students to join in on the repetitive phrases they could easily follow.

Lower School Head Librarian Allison Williams said Mr. Adler was masterful at tailoring his message for each grade level.

“The kids just opened up under his attention,” Ms. Williams said. “He was fun to watch, and it was very enjoyable to hear his stories.”

The discussions were interactive, and he demonstrated how he gathers the ideas he writes about. During his time with 3rd and 4th Graders, for example, he pointed out several students in the audience, gave them nicknames and explained how they could be among the characters featured in his next book.

Adler said he often pulls inspiration from people he knows and from personal experiences, and he advised students to also look for ideas all around them – but to be sure to change names or other identifying information, as he does in his fiction.

“It’s just like the air. I don’t know how people say, ‘I don’t have any ideas.’”

He also encouraged Lower Schoolers to think more like writers and to not be afraid to write about the interesting things in their lives.

Both students and teachers described him as the most engaging author they’ve met in a while, Ms. Williams said.

“His range extended from our youngest to our oldest (and from) biography to mystery to math. His message was that everyone can be a writer, and each one has a story to tell that no one else can tell.”

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