Bibliography
Kerley, Barbara.
2008. What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed
the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN-13: 978-0-439-92231-9
Plot Summary
What To Do About
Alice? is the story of Theodore Roosevelt’s exuberant and unconventional
first-born child who challenged society’s expectations and lived life to the
fullest.
Critical Analysis
Barbara Kerley’s picture book biography of Alice Roosevelt,
the eldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt, is a fun and entertaining
look at a life that many children may not have considered before. Most elementary age children know about their
nation’s presidents, but rarely do they get to see what life can be like for a
child living in the White House under the scrutiny of the public eye. Alice, like her father, was one to live life
to the fullest, or as she put it, “eating up the world.” Her behavior should not have surprised
him. After all this was the man known
for leading the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill and wild game hunting in Africa. And neither did Alice shy away from pursuing
interests that brought her pleasure, including owning a pet snake and betting
on racehorses, regardless of what “proper” society may have thought. Not that it mattered much; most of the public
loved reading about her adventures in the papers.
Unlike much non-fiction, this story makes a very good read
aloud book. Kerley’s text is abundant
with quotes taken from personal letters between Alice and her father and the
plethora of newspaper stories written about her at the time (documented by Kerley in
the author’s note at the end of the book which includes a large amount of
enlightening background information).
The inclusion of these quotes between father and daughter displays the
warmth and depth of their relationship as well as providing authenticity to the
biography. Fotheringham’s vivid and
large scale illustrations display Alice’s vibrant personality and lust for
life. They are bursting with movement
and rich color appropriate for displaying the life of such an active girl and
young woman. The characters’ clothing is
also accurately represented for late 19th and early 20th
century fashions. Readers today will be
enamored with this free-spirited heroine who knew the importance of being true
to oneself.
Awards and Review
Excerpts
- New York Times: “Kerley reveals the essence of Alice in an upbeat account of her life, dramatizing Alice’s love of ‘eating up the world.’”
- Booklist: “Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was.”
- School Library Journal: “Kerley’s text gallops along with a vitality to match her subject’s antics."
- Kirkus: “Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book.”
Connections
- Pair a reading of this book with a visit to the White House Historical Association’s website about other children who have lived in the White House at http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_classroom/classroom_K-3-firstkids.html
- Have students write about what they think would be the best and worst aspects of having a parent as the President of the United States.
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