Nonfiction-What to do About Alice?

A. Bibliography:
Kerley, Barbara. (2008). What to do About Alice? Ill. by  Edwin Fotheringham. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN: 9780439922319.

B. Plot Summary:
Barbara Kerley writes about the life of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the social, adventurous, bold and enthusiastic daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.  Throughout the book, Alice challenges her father from a young girl all the way up until she worked for him during his presidency.  Alice is able to take any situation and turn it into an adventure, such as bawling in her room to complain about attending boarding school, or beating up a boy because he made fun of her while wearing braces on her legs.  Alice paved the way for women to be themselves and not the way someone "thinks" women should act. In this picture book biography, Kerley paints the picture of the witty, fun, challenging and entertaining American heroine, Alice Roosevelt. 

C. Critical Analysis:
What to do About Alice? grabs the reader's attention from the first page.  The story begins with one sentence: "Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem." with a page filled with speed dots, which represents Alice running around everywhere.  From there, the reader is drawn in to the adventures of Alice Roosevelt.  Kerley's use of small and large fonts bring in personality and voice into this biography.  

The choice of a picture book biography really suits the personality of Alice Roosevelt.  I can't imagine her life written as a lengthy, fact-filled traditional biography.  What to do About Alice? doesn't look like your typical biography.  This book also reads like a fun and entertaining story, which will grasp the attention of students.  It does not feature all of the traditional nonfiction or biography text features.  There are no bold words, glossary, table of contents, etc.  Barbara Kerley does include an Author's Note which provides more insight into Alice's childhood nicknames (Sister and Princess Alice) and her life.  Kerley shares theories from historians about Alice's behavior: that she acted this way in order to get attention because she never felt a sense of beloning.

The illustrations by first time illustrator, Edwin Fotheringham are simple, fun, and a bit cartoonish.  He uses the technique of speed dot lines to create movement on most pages.  This movement helps the reader understand the fast paced, adventurous life of Alice Roosevelt.

D. Review Excerpts:
**Kirkus Reviews states "Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book. Taking her thematic approach from Alice's own self-description, 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."
**Publisher's Weekly states, "Debut illustrator Fotheringham creates the perfect mood from the start: his stylish digital art sets a fast pace, making use of speed lines  and multiple vignettes to evoke characters in perpetual motion. His compositions wittily incorporate headlines, iconic images and plenty of Alice blue, too. Kids will embrace a heroine who teaches her younger stepsiblings to sled down the White House stairs."

E. Connections:

This is a fun read when studying the life of Theodore Roosevelt.  Students might want to learn more about Teddy Roosevelt's life by reading one of his biographies.  Here are some discussion questions for students:
Why do you think Alice was such a challenge for her dad?
How do you think she was treated compared to her siblings?
What character traits describe Alice Roosevelt?  Provide text evidence to support your ideas.