Books Good Enough for You:

The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom, Editor of Extraordinary Children’s Books

To be published by Abrams Books for Young Readers in Spring 2026.

Here’s the backstory.

Ursula herself

When I read Leonard Marcus’s book, Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, I was captivated by Ursula’s easy humor and breezy style, but even more so by the way she worked to bring out the best possible stories and art from the authors and illustrators she worked with. She cajoled with a light touch.

Ursula through the eyes of others

I started making a list of all of the adjectives used to describe her. To give you a flavor, here are just a few:

• Charming
• Funny
• Unpretentious
• Curious
• Kind
• Wonderful story teller

To be fair, Ursula wasn’t like this in every moment. She wasn’t a saint, but, wow, do I wish I’d known her! Getting to know her through her writing and interviews as well as her colleagues and friends was fascinating.

Ursula through the books she edited

I enjoyed learning about the writers and artists she worked with and I felt lucky spending weeks, sometimes months, with each of them. It was hard to choose which ones to write about!

Interview

I talked about my journey to writing this book with Julie Rubini, an award-winning biographer, at From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Writers.