The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton Review – “Any dreamy or bookish girl who once loved ‘Harriet the Spy’ should immediately take up this lively new biography…the author brings to life Wharton’s joy, consuming energy and ability to turn adversity into fuel and hunger… I like to picture girls lying on the beach reading this appealing book and receiving its secret message: stop i-chatting and posting on people’s walls — it’s time to write your first novel!”
— Katie Roiphe, New York Times Book Review – August 15, 2010
Just Fine the Way They Are Review – “Wooldridge’s story of America’s land-transportation networks—its roadways and railways—is folksy but panoramic. The informal, affable tone, something like a movie voice-over, works well here, conveying a sweeping amount of material—over a lot of ground and 200 years—as it chugs merrily along, hitting the high points, while Walz provides heroic imagery with a Thomas Hart Benton tang. Fittingly, the story has got real rhythm to it, helped along by the refrain—‘Things were just fine the way they were,’ thought those who benefited from a soon-to-be-diminished carrier—but most of all by capturing the surging, ever-evolving nature of the country’s transportation network.”
— Kirkus Reviews – February 15, 2011
Just Fine The Way They Are – “If the current crop of children’s books doesn’t make environmentalists out of the next generation, I don’t know what will…bursting with imagination, great stories, exhilarating ideas and wonderful art. How we move around our country — Cars? Bicycles? High-speed rail? — is a big issue in environmentalism, and “Just Fine the Way They Are” shows readers that making decisions about technical progress is not always easy. Beginning in 1805 and hitting every new transportation fad along the way, the book gives a history of U.S. roads, from dirt track to superhighway. At every point, there were people who embraced new technologies…and people who thought things were “just fine the way they were.” That’s a fine philosophical debate to introduce to budding environmentalists.”
— Sonja Bolle, Los Angeles Times Book Review, July 3, 2011
Wicked Jack – “Narrated with a breezy Southern twang, this pleasingly tart picture book by a first-time author tells of a man so mean that even the Devil is afraid of him. Hillenbrand captures the slapstick humor of this feisty read-aloud with great verve in his finely wrought illustrations, Intelligent and fun, with a moral thrown in for good measure.”
— Publisher’s Weekly
Wicked Jack Review – “From the first page, readers are sure to realize that this is one of those great spooky-funny books where they’re laughing too hard to ever be really scared…..Surefire child appeal.”
— School Library Journal (Starred Review)
Wicked Jack Review – “In Wooldridge’s adaptation of this well-known folktale, Wicked Jack practices meanness on strangers instead of treating them right. The story offers an explanation for the mysterious light you see dancing around in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia and North Carolina. Hillenbrand’s pencil and oil pastel illustrations greatly heighten the humor.
— The Horn Book
The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton Review – “Glimpses into her “imagining” sessions as a child and the heartache caused by a broken affair as a middle-aged woman create a vibrant and often endearing portrait of Wharton.”
— School Library Journal – September 2010
Wicked Jack Review – “Hillenbrand’s imaginative mixed-media paintings (with smudges of coal) have thin, robust lines, angular figures, subtle colors, and a distinctive style. A folktale adaptation that works.”
— Julie Corsaro, Booklist
The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton Review – “… In this thoroughly researched, humanizing biography, Wooldridge writes with lively specifics about both the author and her time…Wooldridge’s skillful integration of Wharton’s literary and personal lives includes matter-of-fact, detailed accounts of her intense relationships with numerous “bachelor friends,” pictured among the many archival photos. …[A] well-rounded, handsomely illustrated portrait, which will find an enduring place on classroom and library shelves”
— Booklist (STARRED Review) – October 1, 2010