What To Do About Alice?

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439922313

2. PLOT SUMMARY

This book is about Theodore Roosevelt’s eldest, free spirited daughter Alice. Her father believed her unruly behavior to be “running riot,” but she considered it to be “eating up the world.” She shocked most of the people around her by participating in outrageous things like driving, gambling, dancing, and making the most of every life experience. She eventually married a congressman and, being interested in politics, became one of her father’s most trusted advisers, but she never gave up her unconventional lifestyle.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This book is a fun and entertaining look at the life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth. It is organized into a light hearted narrative, providing an easy read for all ages. The facts that are included may not be her most important contributions to society but phrases like “unruly,” “inconsiderate,” and “tomboy” give readers insight into the behaviors that were frowned upon and drove her father crazy. The author's note included inside the back cover provides additional facts about Alice's life, fills in pieces of the story, and explains some of the motivation behind her antics, leading me to want to read more of her incredible life story.

The design and style of this book includes large colorful pictures that whimsically portray the more shocking behavior for which Alice was known such as greeting guests at the White House with a snake and sliding down the stairs on cookie sheets with her siblings “so her stepmother could get some rest.” The text is arranged in fairly small chunks with varied fonts and sizes to draw the reader’s eye, creating a captivating story with a message of staying true to oneself and not conforming to the norms of everyday society.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

2008 SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR AWARD

2009 AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTABLE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AWARD

2009 SIBERT HONOR BOOK

2009 IRMA BLACK AWARD HONOR BOOK

From Booklist, starred review: "Irrepressible Alice Roosevelt gets a treatment every bit as attractive and exuberant as she was....  Kerley's text has the same rambunctious spirit as its subject, grabbing readers from the first line....  The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art."

From 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.... Fascinating."

5. CONNECTIONS

Gather other Barbara Kerley books to read such as:

•                      A Home for Mr. Emerson. ISBN 0545350883

•                      The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According To Susy). ISBN 0545125081

•                      Those Rebels, John and Tom. ISBN 0545222680

Use as a social studies lesson on past presidents and their families.

Use as a writing lesson having students imitate the text by writing about a unique person.

Use as a guidance lesson on being unique and avoiding peer pressure