Women, Wyoming and the Right to Vote
By Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers
Named a “2002 Notable Social Studies Book” by the National Council for the Social Studies – Children’s Book Committee
Watch out, Wyoming! Esther Morris is coming to town! Esther Morris was a large woman with wide-open ideas that needed room to grow. So, in 1869, she headed out to Wyoming. There she came upon a man who shared her notions: Colonel William Bright thought women being able to vote made sense. Esther decided it was time to show that women could hold office, too. So, she became the first female judge in the United States. Not everyone liked her ideas, but Esther had the courage to show how an idea looked in the living of it – and change some minds along the way. This is the tale of a remarkable woman who was a pioneer in more ways than one.
The book includes an Author’s Note that provides historical context and a list of resources.
Excerpt
South Pass city was a place that sprouted out of nearly nothing at the mention of the world “gold.” The space around it was large and wide open. That was a good thing because Mrs. Morris was a large woman with wide-open ideas that needed more room than could be had in New York or Illinois, where she’d come from. You see, she thought a woman should be able to vote and hold office, the same as a man.
Reviews
“It is truly a duty to tell children what life was like before they were born…[This] fine picture book biography accomplishes the task in the best possible way: not by preaching or reciting facts but through [an] engaging story of extraordinary example.” – New York Times Book Review, Betsy Groban, November 18, 2001
“Spicing her prose with a down-home twang, Wooldridge pulls a plum out of the pie of American history. Rogers’s comic flair informs every inch of her expansive watercolors…” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“Wyoming was the first territory to grant women the right to vote…This is a fun-loving look at one woman’s place in that history.” – Kirkus Reviews
When Esther Morris Headed West: Women, Wyoming and the Right to Vote
Written by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers
Published by Holiday House (2001)
Picture Book; Ages 4-8
$16.95 (US)
ISBN #082341597X (hardcover)
>> Other Books by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge