What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! Illus. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0-439-92231-3.

Summary

This is the story about Theodore Roosevelt's spunky, adventurous, strong-willed daughter, Alice. Theodore thought being president of the United States would keep him busy but he thought wrong. This book goes through the life of Alice, how she went against society's rules but still maintained to win the hearts of the world through her work for her father.

Critical Analysis

Accuracy and Organization- Kerley includes in the back cover of the book sources from which she obtained the information included in the book. She has also included quotes from those sources. Included at the end of the book contains more information not mentioned in the story to give readers a chance to get to know more about Alice Roosevelt. Kerley uses the form of picture book biography to entice children to learn about the exciting life of Alice. The author states the 'problem' that Teddy Roosevelt had...Her name was Alice was the line that introduces Alice to the reader. Kerley starts from the beginning of Alice's life and chooses parts of Alice's life to support Teddy's problem. She picks information that is child-friendly but still somewhat upbeat while leaving the adult-information out of the story (such as the political aspect). The organization of the book helps readers to connect with an important part of Alice's life.

Design and Style- The artwork provided by Fotheringham is bold and lively, helping to tell the story of this strong-willed woman who was full of curiosity and adventure. Each picture brings to life the words provided by Kerley. The images of Alice always standing tall and never hanging her head down shows readers of Alice's self-confidence and her zeal for life. Not only were the pictures captivating, the style of the book provides readers with information so as not to overwhelm. Some pages contained a few sentences, some more than others or just a few words. One page simply contains, "Oh, Alice" while the artwork is covered with newspaper headlines of Alice's social activities.

From a reader's standpoint, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy read about a vivacious woman who was ready to take over the world, no matter what others thought of her. The story left me wanting to learn more and research about the life of Alice Roosevelt.

Review Excerpts

Boston Globe-Horn Books Nominee 2008
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Nominee2009
American Library Association Notable Books for Children Award Winner 2009
Beehive Children's Informational Book Award Nominee 2010
Volunteer State Book Award Nominee 2010

Publishers Weekly- It's hard to imagine a picture book biography that could better suit its subject than this high-energy volume serves young Alice Roosevelt.

School Library Journal- This book provides a fascinating glimpse into both a bygone era and one of its more interesting denizens as well as a surefire antidote for any child who thinks that historical figures are boring.

Connections

• *Considering age-appropriate information, research more on the life of Alice Roosevelt.*
• Research the life of Theodore Roosevelt.