Good Books for Bad Children
The Genius of Ursula Nordstrom
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- € 9,99
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- € 9,99
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In this lively, lyrical picture book biography, meet the groundbreaking, outspoken, legendary editor of the best-loved books for children, and see how she inspired Maurice Sendak, Margaret Wise Brown, and others to create Where the Wild Things Are, Good Night Moon, and many more classics.
"Ursula Nordstrom was a grown-up who never forgot what it was to be a child." The girl who'd always loved to read would grow up to work in the Department of Books for Boys and Girls at Harper & Brothers Publishers. Soon she was editing books by Margaret Wise Brown and E. B. White, discovering new talent like John Steptoe and Maurice Sendak, and reinventing what a book for children should be. "Children want to be seen," she'd tell her writers. "Not good enough for you," she'd scribble in the margins of their manuscripts, asking them to revise. Her favorite books of all? "Good books for bad children," she'd say. And those books went on to win every award imaginable, including the Caldecott and Newbery Medals and the National Book Award.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Having cultivated a love of what she called "good books for bad children," editor and publisher Ursula Nordstrom (1910–1988) championed many well-loved American children's classics. When asked how an adult who didn't work with children could make books for them, she replied, "I am a former child, and I haven't forgotten a thing." Fittingly, Kephart (Beautiful Useful Things) begins with Nordstrom's own childhood as the lone child of divorced performers, later zeroing in on her understanding of the need to make books for children who "feel different... are lonely... have secrets." As a young office assistant, a friendship forged in the Harper & Brothers cafeteria led to a career shepherding memorable creators—the book spotlights Crockett Johnson, Ruth Krauss, Maurice Sendak, John Steptoe, and E.B. White, among others—and helping to shape their works. Scenes of well-known classics in process ("It does need pulling together," Nordstrom tells Margaret Wise Brown about a draft of The Runaway Bunny) are a special charm of this picture book biography, illuminated by Bristol (Nonsense!) with angular portraits and embellished with thoughtful details, including Nordstrom's typewritten letters. It's a lively look at a dynamic personality credited with transforming children's literature. Ages 4–8. Author's agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary.
