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Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom
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From: Megan Schliesman <mjschlie>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 10:32:35 -0500
Let's begin our August discussion of Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom.
Ursula Nordstrom was the director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls (today HarperCollins Children's Books) from 1940 until 1973. She was a skilled editor and diplomat who worked with and nurtured many authors and artists, among them Margaret Wise Brown, Louise Fitzhugh, Crockett Johnson, Ruth Krauss, Janette Sebring Lowery, Maurice Sendak, John Steptoe. At the heart of her work was not only respect for the creativity of these individuals but also her respect for children and her belief that children deserve books that acknowledge their intelligence and experience, as opposed to books that simply reflected what adults thought they should read.
Please feel free to begin sharing your own thoughts about and responses to this remarkable collection of correspondence.
In the meantime, Leonard S. Marcus, the editor of Dear Genius, is joining us for this month's discussion to respond to questions and share his experience working on the book.
Leonard, I want to begin by asking you to provide us with some background on how you came to work on the project. I am also curious, given that the letters included in Dear Genius represent only a portion (a small portion, it seems!) of those you actually read through in your research, how you went about shaping the book, which not only gives a marvellous sense of Ursula Nordstrom's fierce commitment to children's books and children's book creators, but also paints a picture of children's book publishing during those years.
Megan Schliesman Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education UW-Madison schliesman at mail.soemadison.wisc.edu
Received on Mon 03 Aug 1998 10:32:35 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 10:32:35 -0500
Let's begin our August discussion of Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom.
Ursula Nordstrom was the director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls (today HarperCollins Children's Books) from 1940 until 1973. She was a skilled editor and diplomat who worked with and nurtured many authors and artists, among them Margaret Wise Brown, Louise Fitzhugh, Crockett Johnson, Ruth Krauss, Janette Sebring Lowery, Maurice Sendak, John Steptoe. At the heart of her work was not only respect for the creativity of these individuals but also her respect for children and her belief that children deserve books that acknowledge their intelligence and experience, as opposed to books that simply reflected what adults thought they should read.
Please feel free to begin sharing your own thoughts about and responses to this remarkable collection of correspondence.
In the meantime, Leonard S. Marcus, the editor of Dear Genius, is joining us for this month's discussion to respond to questions and share his experience working on the book.
Leonard, I want to begin by asking you to provide us with some background on how you came to work on the project. I am also curious, given that the letters included in Dear Genius represent only a portion (a small portion, it seems!) of those you actually read through in your research, how you went about shaping the book, which not only gives a marvellous sense of Ursula Nordstrom's fierce commitment to children's books and children's book creators, but also paints a picture of children's book publishing during those years.
Megan Schliesman Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education UW-Madison schliesman at mail.soemadison.wisc.edu
Received on Mon 03 Aug 1998 10:32:35 AM CDT
