Johanna Hurwitz (born October 9, 1937) is an award-winning author of more than sixty children's books. She has sold millions of books in many different languages.
Hurwitz graduated from Queens College, New York with a degree in English and Columbia University with a master's in library science.
After many years working as a librarian, Hurwitz wrote her first book, Busybody Nora, in 1976, one of the first in the chapter books genre for transitioning young readers from shorter stories to novels. Her books include biographies for children of Anne Frank, Astrid Lindgren, Leonard Bernstein, and Helen Keller. Her 1999 book, The Just Desserts Club, combined related short stories with recipes.
Hurwitz is the aunt of Garance Franke-Ruta and Ted Frank.