Konigsburg, who had two sons and a daughter and five grandchildren, started writing and illustrating children's books when her youngest child began kindergarten.
This year, the odds of winning a space in a public gifted and talented kindergarten program were steeper than ever: The number of preschoolers testing in the 97% percentile and above soared by 47%, leaving more than 2, 600 children qualifying for about 400 spots in the city's five citywide kindergarten programs.