Wooldridge, Frosty 1947-
WOOLDRIDGE, Frosty 1947-
PERSONAL: Born January 26, 1947. Education: Michigan State University, 1970. Politics: Independent. Religion: Religious Science. Hobbies and other interests: Bicycling, photography, mountain climbing.
ADDRESSES: Home—1458 Ford Pl., Louisville, CO 80027. E-mail—frostyw@juno.com.
CAREER: Author. Worked variously as a college guidance counselor, math and science teacher, truck driver, bartender, dance teacher, ski instructor for the handicapped, cardiac catheterization technician, freelance writer, public speaker, personal trainer, and lifestyle coach. Military service: U.S. Army, Medical Service Corps officer during the Vietnam War.
WRITINGS:
The Handbook for Touring Bicyclists (for adults), Chockstone Press (Evergreen, CO), 1996.
Strike Three! Take Your Base (for young adults), illustrated by Pietri Freeman, Brookfield Reader (Sterling, VA), 2001.
Contributor of articles to periodicals; creator of Alcohol, Drugs, and Unique Alternatives, drug and alcohol prevention program, and Closing Fast—A Global Environmental Crisis, an environmental program.
WORK IN PROGRESS: An Extreme Encounter: Antarctica; Zero Visibility: A Blind Man's Quest for the Summit of Everest; When Your Father Left Too Soon.
SIDELIGHTS: With the varied activities of adventurer, teacher, and writer, Frosty Wooldridge seems to have lived many lifetimes. After serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Vietnam War, he worked as a college guidance counselor and high school math and science teacher. Over a quarter century, he has bicycled around the world, pedaling some 100,000 miles on six continents. In addition to creating such educational programs as Alcohol, Drugs, and Unique Alternatives and Closing Fast—A Global Environmental Crisis, Wooldridge has written regularly for newspapers and magazines, such as the Christian Science Monitor and Rocky Mountain News. He has also published several books in the print media, including the Handbook for Touring Bicyclists and Strike Three! Take Your Base, for young adult readers.
Wooldridge's first book geared specifically to young readers is the baseball book Strike Three! Take Your Base. In this "carefully crafted narrative," to quote Janice C. Hayes of School Library Journal, he tells the story of two teenage brothers, Bob and Rex, who deal very differently with their father's sudden death. According to Boulder Daily Camera books editor Clay Evans, the novel is "entertaining," "full of truths," and sends "an especially important message" about the different ways members of the same family grieve.
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
PERIODICALS
School Library Journal, March, 2002, Janice C. Hayes, review of Strike Three! Take Your Base, p. 240.
ONLINE
The Daily Camera,http://www.cfapps.bouldernews.com (January 16, 2003), Clay Evans, "Louisville Author's YA Novel Centers on Grief."
Pedaling Adventures,http://www.pedalingadventures.com (November 20, 2002).