L loyd Alexander is acknowledged to be one of the classic figures in the world of children's literature. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1924, and Philadelphia has remained his home except for a stint in the army during World War II and a period of residence in France following the war. His father was a stockbroker, his mother a housewife, and he describes his childhood as unextraordinary. He was not an excellent student in school although he learned to read when he was quite young and has been an avid reader ever since. He credits Charles Dickens with being one of the writers who influenced his life and helped him to mature. In the course of his reading, Alexander discovered King Arthur and His Knights and began reading hero tales, an act which had a marked effect on his own writing years later...