What to Do About Alice

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

Brief Plot Summary:  

Theodore Roosevelt has captured outlaws, governed the state of New York, and served as the Vice President of the United States but his greatest challenge was found at home:  his daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt.  Alice is a spirited child who never misses an opportunity for adventure.  This enchanting book allows the reader to tag along as Alice travels, charms and entertains White House visitors, breaks rules and, generally, injects fun and humor into every situation. 

Critical analysis:

 

This Sibert Honor Book presents a charming glimpse into the life of a young Alice Lee Roosevelt is a great tool to entice children into the world of non-fiction.  The attractive design and fun illustrations neatly complement the descriptions of Alice’s adventures and ensure that the reader is well-aware of the vivacity and energy with which Alice lived her life.  

The writing style imitates that of a fast-paced picture book so much that some readers may not realize that they are reading non-fiction.  Its clear and concise text is sure to capture the attention of young readers and spark their interest in learning more about this spirited girl.  They will empathize with Alice’s frustration upon learning that she would be attending boarding school and cheer her on as she slides down staircases in the White House.  Adults will sympathize with President Roosevelt as he declared, “I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice.  I cannot possibly do both.”

Barbara Kerley is an award-winning author, former Peace Corp member, and a teacher, having taught math, science, and English both in the United States and abroad.  She drew from credible resources for quotes for this book, including Princess Alice:  A Biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth by James Brough and Princess Alice:  The Life and Times of Alice Roosevelt Longworth by Carol Felsenthal.  This ALA Notable book earned starred reviews and made the “Best Book of the Year” lists from literary review sources such as Kirkus Reviews, The School Library Journal, and Booklist.

Awards won:  

Sibert Honor Book

Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

Irma Black Award Honor Book

Parents Choice Award

Washington State Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award

California Collections

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year

A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

An ALA Notable Book

Capitol Choices

New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing

Review Excerpts: 

School Library Journal

Sure, Teddy Roosevelt had to deal with a lot of issues as President of the United States, but one of his biggest challenges was his daughter, Alice. The girl refused to conform to the social norms of her day when it came to appropriate behavior for young ladies. Barbara Kerley's Siebert Honor book (Scholastic, 2008) is read aloud with great enthusiasm by Katherine Kellgren while Edwin Fotheringham's joyful illustrations are scanned iconographically with minor animation, and augmented with occasional archival black-and-white photographs. Viewers learn how Alice Roosevelt "ate up the world" from her impetuous youth to her antics as a young adult. Her actions may have been occasionally scandalous but were never mean-spirited. Kerley's text is full of rich language with a bouncy rhythm that mirrors the subject matter. 

Bateman, Teresa. 2011. "What to Do About Alice?." School Library Journal 57, no. 6: 56-57. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 9, 2013).

Kirkus Reviews

Barbara Kerley's picture-book biography of young Alice Roosevelt sizzles with the same relentless energy as its subject. A chance encounter with Roosevelt's riveting photo in a history magazine led the author to examine the relationship between Alice and her presidential father. She says that she found "great comic potential… Her spirited hijinks…would allow kids to see the 'human' side of the presidency …. Teddy may have been a powerful world leader, but he was also a dad." The resulting text and Edwin Fotheringham's period-style illustrations make much of Alice's approach of "eating up the world," including Teddy's lament, "I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both." The richly detailed account includes particulars about Alice's pets, family members, politics and the tabloid headlines she generated in her day. In her author's note, Kerley adds more information from later in Alice's life without detracting from the "beginning-middle-end" format she wanted to maintain for younger readers. In a starred review Kirkus called this colorful tale "a gleeful celebration of a fully, unapologetically led life." (Ages 5-10)

2008. "What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!." Kirkus Reviews 76, no. 22: 14. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 9, 2013).

Publisher’s 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. Kerley (The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins) knows just how to introduce her to contemporary readers: "Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem. It wasn't herding thousands of cattle across the Dakota badlands. He'd done that. It wasn't leading the Rough Riders.… He'd bagged a grizzly bear, captured outlaws, governed the state of New York, and served as vice president of the United States, and still he had a problem. Her name was Alice." Debut illustrator Fotheringham creates the perfect mood from the start: his stylish digital art sets a fast pace, making use of speed lines (rendered in dots, these earn their names) and multiple vignettes to evoke characters in perpetual motion. His compositions wittily incorporate headlines, iconic images and plenty of Alice blue, too. Kids will embrace a heroine who teaches her younger stepsiblings to sled down the White House stairs ("Alice tried to be helpful," Kerley writes soberly as Fotheringham shows her in action), entertains dignitaries with her pet snake and captivates a nation with pranks and high jinks. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

2008. "What to Do About Alice?." Publishers Weekly 255, no. 13: 61. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed July 9, 2013).

Connections: 

Barbara Kerley has a great website with enrichment activities related to her books.

http://barbarakerley.com/TRAlice.html

 

Some of my favorite activities listed include:

Explore the illustrations in the book to learn what type of clothing girls wore in the early 1900s, and what this says about how society viewed women at that time. Discuss how clothing styles are different today. As a follow-up, ask students to write a paragraph about why they think nine-year-old Alice wanted to wear pants.

Alice had several younger siblings: Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin. Ask students to choose one of Alice's siblings and write or present a brief report about them.

More information about the Roosevelt family can be found at the following sites:

The National Park Service site
The Theodore Roosevelt Association site

Other children’s books about Alice Roosevelt:

Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt by Leslie Kimmelman

Other books by Barbara Kerley:

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy)

A Cool Drink of Water

Greetings from Planet Earth

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins

Walt Whitman:  Words for America

A Little Peace