Big Tractor by Nathan Clement; illustrated by the author; Boyds Mills Press/Highlights, 2015. 32 pages; $16.95 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. Reminiscent of the human-machine relationship in the 1943 classic Katy and the Big Snow, the farmer in this picture book talks his tractor-friend through the seasons: he wakes “Ol’ Partner” for spring planting, urges… [Read More]
Work in Progress #27: Waiting To Find A Publisher For My Emily Post Biography (The Sequel!)
July 28, 2016 By
A writer’s life is full of surprises. As it turned out, my agent didn’t come back with either of the responses I described in my last Work in Progress blog. Instead, she suggested some revisions. They were pretty major revisions: Re-writing the last chapter, putting in more material that would appeal to the junior high/high… [Read More]
Checkout This Infographic About 18 Famous Writers’ Work Habits…
July 27, 2016 By
Mostly, we writers figure out how to write on our own. Sometimes we read books about writing or go to conferences to hear about writing but, in the end, it’s really a matter of trial-and-error. We stumble on something that seems promising, we give it a go and if it works, it becomes part of… [Read More]
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 18, 2016 By
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin; HarperCollins, 2012. 426 pages; $15.99 (paperback); reading level: adult. Pairs of relationships drive the plot of this beautifully-written, tightly structured novel (Coplin’s first). In 1865, when William Talmadge is an orphaned 17-year-old living in what will later be the state of Washington, his younger sister goes into the forest to… [Read More]
Douglas, You Need Glasses! by Ged Adamson Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 15, 2016 By
Douglas, You Need Glasses! by Ged Adamson; illustrated by the author; Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House, 2016. 32 pages; $16.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. When Douglas the nearsighted dog mistakes leaves for squirrels, sits so close to the television that no one else can see, and fetches a beehive instead of a ball, his… [Read More]
Resources for Preschool Parents – Helping Children To Begin Reading Books
July 13, 2016 By
Valerie Garfield, an editor at Simon & Schuster, has started a great new blog on sharing books with preschoolers called “Bookmom.” Recent posts are “How to Read a Wordless Book,” “How to Read a Book to a Baby and Toddler,” and “Sometimes I Read Books I Hate.” I’m adding her blog to the Resources tab… [Read More]
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
July 8, 2016 By
The Art of Hearing Hearbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker; translated from the German by Kevin Wiliarty; Other Books/Random House, 2006. 325 pages; $15.95 (paperback); reading level: adult. Responding to a just-discovered letter, Julia Win, a hard-nosed young New York City attorney, travels to Kalaw, Burma, her missing father’s birth place, to track him down. The story… [Read More]
Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
June 21, 2016 By
Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George; Picador/Henry Holt & Company, 2013. 287 pages; $16.00 (paperback); reading level: adult. The title of Rose’s book clues us in to her first main point: ninety percent of the food we eat and the things that fill our homes, cupboards, offices, and yards comes to us by sea…. [Read More]
Gator Dad by Brain Lies Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
June 14, 2016 By
Gator Dad by Brain Lies; illustrated by the author. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. 32 pages; $17.99 (hardcover); reading level: ages 3-7. This stay-at-home alligator dad takes care of his three offspring his way! Breakfast fish fly through the air, errands are run with the emphasis on “run,” and a neat house is definitely a low… [Read More]
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín Reviewed by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
May 31, 2016 By
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín; Scribner, 2014. 373 pages; $27.00 (hardcover); reading level: adult. This is the quietest of books. So quiet that, after you take your place behind Nora Webster eyes and realize she’s just lost her husband, you might wonder if anything is going to happen…or if this will be a psychological study… [Read More]