CONNIE
NORDHIELM
WOOLDRIDGE
Author
CONNIE
NORDHIELM
WOOLDRIDGE
Author
Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge lives in Richmond, Indiana with her husband, an orthopedic surgeon. They have four grown children.
It wasn't until she was in her 30's that Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge knew for sure that she was a writer. Before that, she tried her hand at a lot of different things.
She spent a college year studying Greek culture and archeology in Athens. She worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines. She taught first grade at an English-speaking school in Seoul, Korea. She received a masters degree in education and library science from the University of Chicago. And she worked as a school librarian.
Nothing was as exciting as finally sitting down to write and seeing her stories begin to appear in the pages of Highlights for Children and Cricket. Her first picture book, Wicked Jack, rolled off the press in 1995. It received starred reviews in School Library Journal, the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and Kirkus Reviews and was awarded the Irma S. and James H, Black Award and the North Carolina Junior Book Award.
Published Books
Thank You Very Much, Captain Ericsson by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge (Author), Andrew Glass (Illustrator), Reading level: Ages 9-12 Edition: Hardcover Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (September 30, 2004)
ISBN: 0823416267 
Here is the story of Captain John Ericsson, a Swedish-born engineer and inventor, who found opportunity in the US. where people had a taste for dreamers and the U.S. Navy was in desperate need of an engineering mind such as his.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly Starred Review Initially, the title refers to the polite but woefully misguided dismissal of Captain John Ericsson's many brilliant inventions: his 1828 version of a
fire engine with a steam-powered boiler ("Surely such a deluge would cause mischief), quickly followed by a locomotive capable of an amazing 30 m.p.h. ("Was such speed... healthy?") and a screw propeller (deemed "highly suspicious" because it did its work "underwater, out of sight, and silently"). By book's end, however, the title refers to the gratitude of a nation, for Ericsson (1803-1889) was the inventor of the U.S.S. Monitor, the famous ironclad that helped the North win the Civil War. Wooldridge (When Esther Morris Headed West) effortlessly carries readers along in her jaunt through what will likely be unfamiliar history, her prose striking the perfect balance between fact and attitude. Without lecturing, she makes it clear that Ericsson's success lay not just in his engineering acumen, but also in his willingness to believe in himself and to remain "fixed on the possible." (Readers who want to know more about the Swedish-born innovator can soak up the well-written endnotes on the final spread.) Glass (The Wondrous Whirligig) makes an ideal partner for this enterprise: his ink-and-watercolor wash illustrations combine the spunk of editorial cartooning with the visceral punch of visual storytelling. He's equally adept at capturing the dunderheadedness of Ericsson's naysayers and the fiery thrills of a 19th-century naval battle. A fine addition to the shelves of any budding historian—or gearhead. (July}
From Kirkus Reviews ... this portrait of an engineer with both a gift for seeing "out of the present and into the possible," and an unquenchable spirit, makes inspiring reading for budding innovators in the sciences or any other field.
From School Library Journal The creators of The Legend of Strap Buckner (Holiday House, 2001) once again present a lively, larger-than-life figure. Born in Sweden in 1803, Ericsson constantly challenged staid thinkers with his avant-garde inventions. ... Glass's hilarious cartoon spreads depict pot-bellied officials, with clown-size shoes and exaggerated features who wring their hands and say, No. We'll not be needing your…, thank you very much, Captain Ericsson, each time he presents one of his newfangled machines. The captain himself moves from dejection to rolling his eyes at readers to vindication in a final spread in which he is presented center stage, arms folded across his chest, a satisfied smile on his face. A brief biography is appended. The book will introduce young readers to a man who had a huge impact on American history and will make an interesting sidelight to Civil War studies.–Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Wicked Jack by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, Will Hillenbrand (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8
(September 1995) Holiday House; 
School & Library Binding ISBN: 082341101X
Paperback ISBN: 082341292X
A mean old blacksmith's actions leave him unwelcomed by both Saint Peter and the Devil when he dies.
Editorial Reviews
School Library Journal (Starred Review) ....Surefire child appeal.
From Booklist 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
From Horn Book
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 he 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. -- Copyright 1996 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Legend of Strap Buckner by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, Andrew Glass (Illustrator) School & Library Binding (September 2001) Holiday House;
ISBN: 0823415368
Stap Buckner was a man of genius and his genius was to knock folks down! Will he finally forsake his genius and see peace or will it lead to his downfall?
Winner of the Western Writers of America Association
Storyteller award for best-illustrated book of the year
Editorial Reviews
From BOOKLIST "It's the bluster and brawl kids will like most - and the comic, action-packed illustrations...a spirited regional offering."
From SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL "[Wooldridge] gives the historical and cultural background of her story a faithful interpretation with mention of local heroes and native residents...Glass's watercolor-crayon cartoon art captures the humor of Buckner's character and adds bright, colorful appeal and action to the tale."
When Esther Morris Headed West : Women, Wyoming, and the Right to Vote by Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge, Jacqueline Rogers (Illustrator) School & Library Binding (September 2001) Holiday House;
ISBN: 082341597X
Watch out, Wyoming! Esther Morris is coming to town! This is the tale of a remarkable woman who was a pioneer in more ways than one.
Named a 2002 Notable Social Studies Book by the National Council for the Social Studies - Children's Book Committee.
Editorial Reviews
From the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW: "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."
From PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review) "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..."
From KIRKUS REVIEWS "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."
Presentations
Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge is available to speak to young people (ages 2nd grade through high school) and to adult book-lovers, educators, and librarians.
Her fee is $500 per day plus travel expenses. No more than three presentations per day, please.
Contact
Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
1831 South B St.
Richmond, IN 47374
To return to the State page Click HERE 04/04/08 date last edited
