What to Do About Alice?

Written by Barbara Kerley

Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

               

1. Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What To Do About Alice?. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 9780439922319

2. Plot Summary

What to Do About Alice? Is a biography about Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s life.  The book is brilliantly written in a storybook format with beautiful illustrations of events in Alice’s life.  The biography tells of the difficulties Theodore Roosevelt had in razing an outgoing, curious, adventurous daughter who loves life and is always looking for fun.  The story begins by telling a little bit about Theodore Roosevelt and then leads into difficulties he had in taking care of Alice as a child.  Throughout the book Alice is shown in pictures having fun jumping on couches, traveling with her father, riding bicycles, and sliding down stair cases with her siblings.  When Alice grows up her father’s political career takes off eventually leading him to become the 26^th President of the United States.  Alice becomes a celebrity with all of her unladylike and outrageous adventures.  She eventually becomes and ambassador for the president and one day the wife of a congressman.  This interesting biography will show you another side of Theodore Roosevelt’s life with his fun and outgoing daughter Alice. 

3. Critical Analysis

Barbara Kerley tells the story of Alice Roosevelt Longworth’s Life in this delightful picture book biography.  Each page is filled with creative and beautiful illustrations featuring the outgoing and entertaining childhood of Alice.  The pictures follow the text accurately and help the reader visualize Alice and her sometimes outrageous adventures.  For instance she is shown jumping on couches as a child and sliding down staircases with her siblings in the White House as a teenager. 

Kerley begins the story by giving a little bit of background information on Theodore Roosevelt and then leads into his difficulties raising Alice as a child.  The book follows Alice’s life up until she marries Nicholas Longworth and becomes the wife of a congressman.  Even though the book is written in a storybook format it contains real quotes that Theodore Roosevelt and Alice said.  The events in the story are also accurate and factual accounts of Alice’s life.  On the last pages of the book Kerley includes Author’s Notes that give an account of the loss of Theodore Roosevelt’s wife, also named Alice and an excerpt that shows how proud he was of his daughter when she went to Puerto Rico as an Ambassador.  The author also gives a short summary of the biography of Alice’s life.  In addition she includes a list of her sources for the quotes and facts in the book.

Kerley shows her passion for the biography by giving a fun, exciting, and interesting account of Alice’s life and an explanation of why she chose to write the book.  On the jacket flap of the book the author states that she read an article in a history magazine about the “glamorous, intelligent, almost regal” Alice, her “high jinks” at the capital, and how she “drove her father crazy” and knew that it would make a “great story”.

I really enjoyed reading this biography.  I thought it was interesting and the pictures really added to the facts in the story. The book has an independent reading level of fourth grade due to the length of the biography and the difficulty level of the words.  However I would recommend this book as a read aloud to students of all ages.

4. Review Excerpts

v     Boston Globe- Horn Book Honor Book

v     Irma Black Award Honor Book

v     Robert F. Sibert Informational Award Honor Book

v     Parents Choice Award

v     Washington State Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award

v     California Collections

v     A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

v     A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

v     A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

v     ALA Notable Book

v     Capitol Choices

v     New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

v     Nominated for Young Reader awards in Texas, Illinois, Utah and Tennessee

Booklist, Starred Review-"Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....  Kerley's text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line....  The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."                                                                     

School Library Journal, 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.... Fascinating…

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

Kirkus, 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.”                           

Horn Book, Starred Review- "What to do about Alice?  Enjoy!" 

5. Connections

Discuss with the students what Alice meant by the term “ate up the world.”  Ask the students what they would do if they were Alice and could travel anywhere and do anything they wanted to do.  Have each student write a paragraph about something Alice did in the book and something they would like to do if they were allowed to do anything. 

Research and learn more about Alice’s father Theodore Roosevelt.  Put the students into groups and have them look up some of Theodore Roosevelt’s accomplishments that are listed in the book.  One example might be Roosevelt’s adventures as a Rough Rider.  Then have each student make a poster of 10 of the most interesting facts they found out about Theodore Roosevelt.  The following books are books about Theodore Roosevelt.

The Boyhood Diary of Theodore Roosevelt, 1869-1870: Early Travels of the 26th U.S. President by Theodore Roosevelt ISBN: 9780736806015

The Great Adventure: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of Modern America by Albert Marrin ISBN: 9780525476597

Theodore Roosevelt for Kids: His Life and Times, 21 Activities by Kerrie Logan Hollihan ISBN: 9781556529559

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! By Jean Fritz ISBN: 9780698116092

Teddy Roosevelt: The People's President by Sharon Gayle ISBN: 9780689858253

Letters to His Children by Theodore Roosevelt by Theodore Roosevelt ISBN: 9781463701857

Read the book Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt! By Leslie Kimmelman.  Compare and contrast this book to What To Do About Alice?  Make a chart listing the similarities of the two books on one side and the differences on the other.

Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt! By Leslie Kimmelman ISBN: 9781561454921

Do an author study on Barbara Kerley.  Read other biographies and books she has written and discuss the similarities in the format or way that they are written.  Research more about the author and share a little bit about her with the students.

Other books by Barbara Kerley:

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer by Barbara Kerley ISBN: 9780439114943

The Extraordinary Mark Twain: According To Susy by Barbara Kerley ISBN: 9780545125086

Greetings From Planet Earth by Barbara Kerley ISBN: 9780439802048

Those Rebels, John and Tom by Barbara Kerley ISBN: 9780545222686

Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley ISBN: 9780439357913

Barbara Kerley’s website:

http://www.barbarakerley.com/Site/Welcome.html