''Busybody Nora'' is a children's book written by
Johanna Hurwitz
Johanna Hurwitz (born October 9, 1937) is an American author of more than sixty children's books. She has sold millions of books in many different languages.
Life and career
Hurwitz graduated from Queens College, New York with a degree in Englis ...
and illustrated by Susan Jeschke. It was first published in 1976.
It was Hurwitz's first book and was an early chapter book. Her daughter Naomi was the inspiration for Nora, and her son Ben was the inspiration for Teddy.
On
Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a website used to assist students with reading skills.
Components
ATOS
ATOS is a readability formula designed by Renaissance Learning.
Books with quizzes in Accelerated Reader are assigned an ATOS readability level.
...
, the level of the story is 4.1 (blue color), has a
lexile
The Lexile Framework for Reading is an educational tool that uses a measure called a Lexile to match readers with books, articles and other leveled reading resources. Readers and books are assigned a score on the Lexile scale, in which lower sco ...
measure of 630L and is recommended for seven- to ten-year-olds. It has since become a popular children's library book and is also used for school lessons.
The book is made up of six stories about a six-year-old girl called Nora, her young brother Teddy, and her parents who live in a
New York apartment block.
Plot
The protagonist, Nora, is a girl who lives in an apartment building of about 200 people in New York with her little brother Teddy and her parents. Although she has lived there all her life, she doesn't know all the residents' names so she asks everyone she meets what their name is and receives the
moniker of 'Busybody'.
One time Nora accidentally becomes a babysitter for a day and later she and Teddy prepare for their dad's birthday. Another day her grandparents visit and her grandfather talks about how he knew Jack from the
beanstalk tale. Finally Nora arranges for a building party as a way to persuade one of the resident's daughters, who lives in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, that New York is a safe and friendly place for her mother to live.
Reception
Publishers Weekly states that ''Busybody Nora'' is 'Six joyous stories ... will make six-year-old Nora and her little brother the favorite fiction friends of all readers, any age.'
References
{{Portal , Children's literature
1976 children's books
1976 short story collections
American children's books
Children's short story collections