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| Cover art by Edwin Fotheringham, image from goodreads.com |
What to Do About Alice?,
by Barbara Kerley, 2008
Kerley, Barbara, and
Edwin Fotheringham, ill. What to Do About Alice? New York: Scholastic
Press, 2008. ISBN13: 978-0439922319
Ages 7 and up
Precocious doesn’t
even begin to describe Alice Roosevelt growing up. The eldest daughter of President
Theodore Roosevelt, she is the subject of Barbara Kerley’s picture book
biography, What to Do About Alice?
Alice gave her father fits and starts from a young age, and the reader begins to
understand this from the very first sentence in the book: “Theodore Roosevelt
had a small problem.”
Alice, named after
her mother, who died when baby Alice was two-days-old, was a lively child. She
was self-educated (by choice), and never wanted any pity for the loss of her mother or having a
mild form of polio, later corrected with leg braces. After her father became
president when she was 17-years-old, she watched over her younger brothers and
sisters and several pets, including her snake, Emily Spinach. She became a goodwill
ambassador for her father’s administration, traveled the world on her
father’s behalf, and made headlines with her non-conformist behavior (to her
father’s chagrin). She would stay up late dancing, bet on horse races, played
poker with the boys, and had the audacity to drive her own car. She married Congressman
Nicholas Longworth and enjoyed her role as the wife of a congressman, while
becoming one of her father’s most trusted advisors.
Kerley, who has also
written biographies on notable figures such as Mark Twain and Walt Whitman,
keeps her text amusing and accessible to children. On the end pages, she acknowledges her fact checker, Carol Felsenthal, so the reader can have confidence in the text's accuracy. Although the main text
describes Alice’s life into young adulthood, Kerley’s “Author’s Notes” on the
back end pages give readers more insight into Alice’s family life, her
celebrity status as a young woman, and her later years. She includes quotes from
Alice and her father, which shows the reader the close relationship the two
developed over the years. Illustrator Edwin Fotheringham’s colorful and whimsical digital
art is a perfect accompaniment to Kerley’s dynamic text, about a woman who
later in her life quipped, “I just perform. I give a good show -- just one of the Roosevelt showoffs.”
Reading/writing connections:
- Alice Roosevelt was an avid animal lover, and had several pets during her years living in the White House. Have students report more in-depth about that part of her life, along with other pets that have lived in the White House during its history.
- This book is a partial biography of Alice Roosevelt’s life. Challenge students to find out more about her through researching her later life. Of particular interest may be a television interview she did for 60 Minutes.
- There have been children living in the White House since John Adams’ granddaughter moved in to the newly built structure. Students could create their own biographies of “First Children” who have lived in the White House.
- On her website (see URL below), Barbara Kerley gives students instructions on how to write a biography, and suggests they start with someone they know. Ask students to choose a friend or family member and have them write that person’s biography.
Reviews:
"Irrepressible
Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she
was. The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for
spectacular art." – Booklist, starred
review
"Theodore
Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious
appreciation in this superb picture book. Kerley’s precise text presents
readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live
life on her own terms and largely succeeded." – Kirkus, starred review
"Kerley's text
gallops along with a vitality to match her subject's antics, as the girl greets
White House visitors accompanied by her pet snake, refuses to let leg braces
cramp her style, dives fully clothed into a ship's swimming pool, and also
earns her place in history as one of her father's trusted advisers.
Fotheringham's digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match
for the text." – School Library
Journal, starred review
To learn more about author
Barbara Kerley and illustrator Edwin Fotheringham, go to:
To learn more about
Alice Roosevelt Longworth, visit:
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