The Zhivago Affair; The Kremlin, the CIA, and the Battle Over a Forbidden Book by Peter Finn and Petra Couvée; Pantheon Books/Random House, 2014. 352 pages; $26.95 (hardcover); reading level: adult. When the celebrated poet Boris Pasternak began the novel Doctor Zhivago in 1945, he and his fellow Russian writers were living under the terrifying,… [Read More]
The Zhivago Affair by Peter Finn and Petra Couvée Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman; illustrated by the author; Abrams/Appleseed, 2015. 32 pages; $14.94 (hardcover); reading level: ages 4 and under. What item of clothing is more fascinating to a potty-training-aged fashionista than underwear? And what food is more on the minds of the fashionista’s care-givers than vegetables? Chapman gives a nod to both… [Read More]
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
If You Plant a Seed; words and paintings by Kadir Nelson; Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 2015. 32 pages; $18.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-8. Seeds – both real and metaphoric – are the subject of this stunning, oversized picture book. The biblical adage of reaping what you sow (carrots…selfishness…kindness) is conveyed in a restrained text that… [Read More]
How It All Began by Penelope Lively Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
How It All Began by Penelope Lively; Penguin Books, 2012. 229 pages; $16.00 (paperback); reading level: adult. It all began when 77-year-old Charlotte Rainsford was mugged; which meant she had to move into her daughter Rose’s house, where she tutored Anton, her adult literacy student, while her broken hip mended; which meant Rose noticed Anton’s… [Read More]
Like a River; A Civil War Novel by Kathy Cannon Wiechman Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Like a River; A Civil War Novel by Kathy Cannon Wiechman; Calkins Creek, 2015. 336 pages; $17.95 (hardcover); reading level: ages 10 and up. The stage is deftly set in the first two pages of this remarkable novel: we are in Ohio, the Civil War is raging, and fifteen-year-old, Leander Jordan (“Jordan like the river”)… [Read More]
Bookends – Some Suggested Christmas Reading
I like “bookend” plots that start in one place and then circle back to the beginning of things. I like January and December because they bookend the year. And I like bookends – the real thing – because they’re useful when you have as many books as I do. Here are some books you might… [Read More]
The Big and the Small of it
Speaking is a part of the writing life. Initially I thought I would speak to larger and larger audiences as I became better and better known. Two events this past weekend show how wrong I was! On Friday, October 31, I joined forces with illustrator Will Hillenbrand and Richmond Symphony Orchestra flutist Evelien Woolard to… [Read More]
Best Friends Pretend! by Linda Leopold Strauss Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Best Friends Pretend! by Linda Leopold Strauss; illustrated by Lynn Munsinger; Scholastic/Cartwheel Books, 2014. 14 pages; $6.99 (board book); reading level: ages 3-6. The two “princesses” dressed up in sparkly pinks and purples on the cover are a sure-fire draw for very young girls. But don’t be fooled into thinking they can’t pretend outside the… [Read More]
Monitor by James Tertius deKay Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Monitor; The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History by James Tertius deKay. Ballantine Books, 1997. 247 pages; $11.95 (paperback). Reading level: high school/adult. Building on the premise that it was not the more famous land battles that determined the outcome of the Civil War… [Read More]