Book Review: What To Do About Alice?

 

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? Ill. by Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780439922319

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

In this charming story, we learn about Alice Roosevelt and all of the trouble that she gets into. When Alice was two days old, her mother passed away leaving a huge void in Theodore and Alice’s life. As Alice got older, her father remarried and had several children. Alice mentioned that she never felt a part of the family, so instead of trying to fit in she decides to stand out. What to do About Alice? tells about all of the funny events that Alice goes through from birth to her father becoming president and beyond. Alice is a very lovable person and this story provides a funny side of what President Roosevelt really had to deal with at home.

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The first page starts with a great attention getter by saying, “Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem." When I first read this line, I knew that this was going to be a silly lighthearted book and I was right. Kerley does a great job making this biography of Alice fun and hilarious. I really liked how she used Theodore Roosevelt’s quotes when describing his daughter Alice, you could tell that he loved her but that he thought she was a mess. The bolded words throughout the story, bring the reader’s attention to strong feelings or important messages.

The illustrations are wonderful and tie in with the story perfectly. Fotheringham does a great job creating artwork that has a historical feeling to it. The colors used throughout are more muted and not as bright, which relates really well to the era that the story takes place in. I loved learning about Alice in such a fun storybook way and think that this would be a great story for children of all ages.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT

*BOOKLIST Starred Review: "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."

*KIRKUS REVIEWS 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."

*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. Fotheringham s digitally rendered, retro-style illustrations are a superb match for the text."

5. CONNECTIONS

*This would be a great book to teach about problem and solutions. For each problem that President Roosevelt runs into, the students can brainstorm solutions.

* Throughout the story, Alice talked about “eating up the world”. Ask students what they think this means and have them create a poster showing ways that they can eat up the world like Alice.

*Want to learn more about the White House? Check out this website: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0877632.html

*Here are more stories about kids that have lived in the White House:

McCullough, Noah. FIRST KIDS: THE TRUE STORY OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS CHILDREN. ISBN: 9780545175388

Rhatigan, Joe. THE WHITE HOUSE KIDS: THE PERKS, PLEASURES, PROBLEMS AND PRATFALLS OF THE PRESIDENTS’ CHILDREN. Ill. by Jay Shinn. ISBN: 9781936140800