What to do About Alice?

Bibliography

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What to do About Alice. Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 9780439922319

Plot Summary

Alice Roosevelt was a small, large problem for her father Theodore Roosevelt. She didn’t like to live by the rules and the world loved her for it. She stole the heart of the nation as she showed us all that women can step outside of the expectations of women in the 1900’s and still be a smart, educated productive member of society. This biography, with its whimsical illustrations and tidbits of information is a spunky as Alice Roosevelt herself.

Critical Analysis

Barbara Kerley has created a story about Alice Lee Roosevelt that is both accurate and catching to the intended audience of young readers. As we follow Alice while she “eats up the world” the reader is introduced to easy to understand tidbits of information about a woman who caught the attention and hearts of Americans in the early 1900s. If the reputation of Barbara Kerley isn’t enough to give the book accreditation for the accuracy of information, the author has included author’s notes and works cited at the end of the story, including the name of her fact checker, Carol Felsenthal.

Being a biography, the book is one that follows a logical sequence of events taking us through the life of Alice and the struggles of Teddy as she grows and discovers what she likes and how she wants to live. The design of the book is just as lively as Alice herself. The illustrations grab the attention of the reader and the font and layout of the text keeps the reader flowing from one page to another.

The combination of large, colorful illustrations, vintage style fonts and the authors choice of words creates a story as lively as Alice’s personality. The interest the author has in Alice is transferred to the reader as I found myself wanting to learn even more about her. While the book was written for young readers using a language and vocabulary they can easily comprehend, older students and adults are left satisfied as well.

Review Excerpts:

Awards:
Sibert Honor Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
Irma Black Award Honor Book
Parents Choice Award
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

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." --Starred Review, Booklist

"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." --Starred Review, Kirkus

"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." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

Connections

Other books by Barbara Kerley:Greetings from Planet Earth
A Little Peace
The Extraordinary Mark Twain…


A list of research links
Think-Pair-Share with What to do About Alice?
Use as an introduction for student written biographies