Book Review WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? HOW ALICE ROOSEVELT BROKE THE RULES, CHARMED THE WORD, AND DROVE HER FATHER TEDDY CRAZY! Ill. Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 0439922313

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Theodore Roosevelt has a little problem; the problem’s name was Alice. Alice Lee Roosevelt loved to slide down her stair case, hang out with the boys, meet new people, and go places. She called this “eating up the world,” but her father called it “running riot.” As she grew older, she still could not conform to society’s standards of women. She drove fast, bet on horses, played poker with the boys, and even created the Night Riders, who galloped through the night until invited in for snacks. In this biography, we learn how Alice Lee Roosevelt grew up in the White House and why everyone fell in love with “Princess Alice.”

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In What to Do About Alice?, Kerley does an amazing job in bring Alice Roosevelt’s character to life. With this short well-organized biographical picture book, readers get an instant portrait of Alice’s personality. Young readers learn that Theodore Roosevelt’s wife died two days after Alice was born in 1884, and Alice was Theodore’s only child with his first wife. But Alice did not want to grow up hearing “The poor little thing!” all her life. With this statement, readers get a better understanding behind Alice’s unconventional behaviors.

The author includes a few quotes throughout the story, and their sources are cited at the end of the book.

Debuting illustrator, Fotheringham creates his artwork with digital media. His beautifully detailed illustrations enhance and add humor to this story. We get to see Theodore Roosevelt giving Alice a piggyback ride, Alice hanging upside down from a tree with a monkey, Alice chasing a bully with her leg braces, and little boys dressed as girls.

Young readers will love this biographical picture book!

4. AWARDS WON AND REVIEW EXCERPTS
American Library Association Notable Books for Children

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," as she put it. Kerley's text plays straight man to the punch line of Edwin Fotheringham's mischievous artwork.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Kerley brings another historical figure to life.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*What to Do About Alice? can be incorporated into a 1st through 3rd grade social studies lesson. After reading this book, the teacher can lead a discussion asking students how/why Alice Roosevelt did not conform to behavior deemed acceptable of women of her time.

Image Credit: readkiddoread.com