Kerley, Barbara.
What To Do About Alice: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!. Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. New York: Scholastic Press, 2008. ISBN: 0439922313
Summary
President Teddy Roosevelt knew how to handle the nation's budget. He knew how to ride a horse. But he just didn't know what to do about Alice…
Critical Analysis
Kerley's biography on Alice Roosevelt is as charming as it is informative. Drawing from a multitude of sources, her text neither bores nor preaches on the wonder of Alice. The story progresses naturally through her life highlighting moments of "outrageousness." From greeting visitors to the White House with her pet snake in tow to jumping in a pool fully clothed, Alice truly charmed all those who viewed her antics.
Illustrations by Fotheringham add to the image of Alice as a wild tornado. The drawings are unique with thick blot-like lines outlining the figures. Fotheringham's backgrounds are often simple yet they do not detract from the main image. While the colors of the illustrations may not jump off the page (much like the protagonist), they compliment the story. Alice is clearly seen as a wild ball of energy that illuminates all she touches. Fotheringham's illustrations may also be seen in Neiman Marcus' ads, magazine covers, and the occasional elementary school auction.
Review Excerpts
"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." - Booklist, 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." - Kirkus, 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." - School Library Journal, Starred Review
Awards
Sibert Honor Book
ALA Notable Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
Irma Black Award Honor Book
Parents Choice Award
Best Books of the Year -- Publishers Weekly
Best Books of the Year -- School Library Journal
Best Books of the Year -- Kirkus Reviews
Washington State Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
California Collections
Capitol Choices
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Nominated for Young Reader Awards in Texas, Illinois, Utah, and Tennessee
Connections
Author's website:
Click Here
How to write your own Biography:
Click Here
What To Do About Alice? is not the only collaboration of Kerley and Fotheringham.
The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy). ISBN: 0545125081
Those Rebels, John and Tom. ISBN: 0545222680
