Review: What to do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley

What To do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley

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

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Alice Roosevelt, the oldest daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, is the subject of this lighthearted biography. Beginning when she was a child riding on her father’s shoulders to breakfast and continuing through young adulthood and marriage, Alice led an exuberant and lively existence. Kerley includes author’s notes and a brief paragraph of quote references on the end pages.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Barbara Kerley is an award winning and highly respected author of biographical books for a young audience. She manages to paint a picture with her text of Alice Roosevelt as a fun-loving and inquisitive child who is loved by her father, Theodore, despite her shenanigans. The book is organized in chronological order, highlighting the most important experiences and events in Alice’s life. Kerley emphasizes the way Alice enjoyed living by “Eating up the world" through specific experiences such as foreign travel and learning about new cultures. The writing is not difficult to read and would be appropriate for children of any age. In her Author’s Note she adds additional information about Alice Roosevelt not included in the biography itself, along with references to maintain accuracy and credibility. Kerley backs up the quotations in her biography with specific sources, proving they are authentic and contain documentable dialogue.

Edwin Fotheringham has created vibrant and charming illustrations that appear old-fashioned, to fit the time period in which Alice Roosevelt grew up. The illustrations are so historically accurate that they could be confused with photos, if it were not for the cartoonish style. Although they look hand drawn, they were created using digital media. There is a constant sense of movement on the page, whether Alice is falling down the stairs, riding a bicycle, or sliding down the White House stairs. Each page is vibrantly colored with all space used by pictures or text.


4. AWARDS & REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee 2009-2010

Sibert Honor Book

ALA Notable Book

Irma Black Award Honor Book

Starred review in Booklist: “Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was.”

Starred review in Kirkus: “Theodore Roosevelt’s irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book. It’s a gleeful celebration of a fully, unapologetically led life.”

Starred review in 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.”

5. CONNECTIONS
* Use What To Do About Alice? when studying presidents or the children of presidents.

* Other books by Barbara Kerley:

            The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). ISBN 9780545125086

            Those Rebels, John and Tom. ISBN 9780545222686

            Walt Whitman: Words for America. ISBN 9780439357913

* Other books about Alice Roosevelt:

            Kimmelman, Leslie. Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt! ISBN 9781561454921

            Felsenthal, Carol. Princess Alice: The Life and Times of Alice Roosevelt

                        Longworth. ISBN 9780312302221