Nancy Hudgins is the author of Books Good Enough for You: The Storied Life of Ursula Nordstrom, a new biography for older kids. It focuses on the life of children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom.
Q: Why did you decide to write a biography for young people about legendary children's book editor Ursula Nordstrom (1910-1988)?
A: I had decided I wanted to write children’s books about American women living in the 20th century who had done something consequential, something that had changed people’s lives.
When I read Leonard Marcus’s Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom, I discovered she had published dozens of the 20th century’s most timeless children’s books during her 44-year career at the publishing house now known as HarperCollins.
Her list of outstanding books is staggering. Books like Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte’s Web, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Stevie, and Harriet the Spy. I could go on and on.
I noticed Ursula’s marvelous sense of humor, especially her self-deprecation, first. I also appreciated the deft way she cajoled the writers and artists she worked with into doing their best work. I wanted to learn more about her!
The more I read, the more impressed I became. I wanted children to know about her, too. And, I suspected, they, like I, had no idea what an editor did, not to mention what Ursula did. Her insight, judgment and enthusiasm were integral to the making of these books.
In the 1940s, ‘50s, and early 1960s, most publishers were publishing children’s books that were heavily skewed towards “good little boys and girls,” teaching morals and reflecting a rigid adult perception of righteousness. Frances Chrystie, the bookseller at FAO Schwarz, called them “agreeable little stories which leave [children] untouched.”
Ursula, by contrast, blazed a trail, publishing books in which every day children could see themselves, which included groundbreaking books for gay kids like Harriet the Spy and I’ll Get There. It Better Be Worth the Trip, and trailblazing books by Black authors that featured authentic Black kids like Stevie and Bronzeville Boys and Girls.
Where the Wild Things Are dared to show big and negative emotions, like anger. It paved the way for more honest books about children’s emotions.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Ursula’s stated goal was to publish books that were “fresh” and “original” and “honest.” She wrote, “Anything less is not good enough for a child.” So, the title—Books Good Enough For You—conveys the idea that my book will be about books made Good Enough for You—the Reader—and I tell the stories behind the making of 16 of the iconic books she published.
Q: The Kirkus Review of the book says, “Matching Nordstrom’s respect for young people, Hudgins does her brave, funny, and singular subject proud.” What do you think of that description?
A: I was so humbled when I read that. I also breathed a sigh of relief—I’m new to this; this is my debut book—and I didn’t know how it would be received. This reviewer understood what I was trying to accomplish—and then was kind enough to say it, and in such a lovely way.
Q: Do you have a couple of favorites among the books Nordstrom edited?
A: As you might suspect, I have many favorites! All of the books I featured in my book are favorites in one way or another. The books I remember fondly from my childhood are the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik, illustrated by Sendak; The House of Sixty Fathers, by Meindert DeJong, illustrated by Sendak; and Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m still writing biographies. I would like to see librarians elevated, as their work has made them unfortunate, and I believe unjust, targets in today’s political landscape. And I have some other irons in the fire as well. Sorry to be vague, but publishing nonfiction is tricky. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Ursula was a fervent advocate of a child’s right to read. In 1971, when a librarian in Louisiana painted diapers on the naked main character, Mickey, in Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen, Ursula was appalled. She rightly called it censorship by mutilation. Sendak’s artistic vision was changed, and in a sort of underhanded way. Readers might have thought the diapers were Sendak’s idea.
Ursula got 425 editors, authors, illustrators, critics, publishers, etc., to sign a petition objecting to the censorship. And she likely had a hand in getting the American Library Association to amend its Library Bill of Rights to include alterations in its definition of censorship.
Unfortunately, that sort of censorship is still going on today. In the Night Kitchen was removed from a library’s shelf in Florida in 2025—and only returned after someone had painted blue jeans shorts on Mickey. The fight for the right to read continues.
Oh! And the audiobook is now out. Performed by the great Barbara Rosenblat!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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