What to do About Alice?
Bibliography:
Kerley, B. (2008). WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? (E. Fotheringham, Illus.). New York: Scholastic Press.
ISBN: 978-0439922319
Plot Summary:
Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem. Her name was Alice. Alice Lee Roosevelt was hungry to go places, meet people, do things. Her father called it "running riot." Alice called it "eating up the world." Whether she was entertaining important White House visitors with her pet snake or traveling the globe, Alice bucked convention and turned every new experience into an adventure! Brimming with affection and wit, this spirited biography gives readers a peek at family life inside the White House. Prose and pictures spring, gambol, and two-step across the pages to celebrate a maverick American heroine.
Critical Analysis:
Kerley makes a history book into a fun version for students to read. Alice Roosevelt is described as such a fun child that has a great imagination. The book is full of adventure and would be truly entertaining for students in 1st grade and up. This picture book biography would introduce these students to a historical figure. The illustrations portray that fast energy and fun that the book depicts. The pictures are also creatively drawn with a pastel like color but at the same time colorful palette. Words as in “eating up the world” would be a great lesson to teach students when reading the book about so many ways to act out parts of the book. The book allows students to vision in their mind how Alice really was in real life. The silly phrases the author uses is something students would certainly admire.
Review Excerpt(s):
“Spunky and headstrong, Alice Roosevelt Longworth "was hungry to go places...do things." Readers follow her sneaking out at night; riding trays down the White House stairs; and diving, clothed, into a pool. With a palette emphasizing Alice Blue, her signature color, the illustrations match Alice's spirit with zigzag streaks, slanting figures, and circular spot art. An author's note is appended.” - Hornbook
“*Starred Review* Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was. The daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (and a mother who died soon after childbirth), Alice had a joie de vivre that she called "eating up the world." This energy exhibited itself in her joining an all-boys club, tramping around Washington, D.C., and, later, taking off on around-the-world adventures. Kerley's text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line: "Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem." Children will be impressed with the way Alice took control of her life: eschewing formal schooling, she convinced T. R. to "let her loose in his library." The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art, which includes use of digital media. In almost every picture, Alice is running, motoring, and racing. One clever spread shows what it was like to be a media princess: newspaper pages fly across the spread, obscuring Alice. There are a few flaws. Kids, who have a shaky sense of history, would have benefited from a timeline, and quotes are barely sourced. These are small points, though, in an otherwise invigorating look at larger-than-life Alice. An afterword is appended.”-Starred Review ALA Booklist
Connection:
*The students can work on cultural representation in the text by comparing and contrasting their own experiences with elements of the story.
* Students can write about the author’s tone and purpose for the story.
Other books that reflect this genre:
WHO SAYS WOMEN CAN’T BE DOCTORS? :THE STORY OF ELIZABETH BLACKWELL by Tanya Lee Stone
ISBN 9780805090482
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