Blog #24

What to Do About Alice
Written by: Barbara Kerley

Illustrated by: Edwin Fotheringham

Scholastic, Inc.

2008

44 pages

            I chose this book from the library shelves because of the humorous illustrations and the true story about Alice Roosevelt.  This book is a nonfiction story about the life of a former President’s daughter: Alice.  Theodore Roosevelt was a beloved President who served two terms at the beginning of the twentieth century.  He was an iconic figure which all of America respected and loved.  His daughter Alice was named after his deceased wife, Alice Lee.  Everyone felt sorry for Alice because of her mother.  Even though Roosevelt remarried and had more children, Alice remained unconventional and played to the ‘beat of her own drum’ so to speak.  Even from a young age, Alice was known to find herself in mischief.  She jumped on the sofa, demanded piggyback rides to breakfast every morning, and found herself exploring the many large towns she moved to.  Roosevelt attempted to make her attend school, but Alice was unhappy and he let her come home.  Instead, she taught herself many things from her father’s library.  When Alice was seventeen, her father became President.  Alice then moved to the White House and continued to be unconventional.  She would stay out dancing all night, bet on horse races, and even travel the world.  Alice traveled to Asia and came back with a fiance.  She was a celebrity to the American public.  They loved her and she brought popularity to her father who won another election as President of the United States.

            The book is illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.  It appears that he used watercolors, acrylics, and markers to render the artwork.  He uses bold colors of deep red, green, blue, and black throughout the text.  He uses both single page spread and double page spreads throughout the book.  He uses formal text placement throughout the book as well.  I love how Alice is portrayed throughout the book with that mischievous smile on her face.  I especially like the illustration showing Alice getting off the boat from her trip with all her boxes of ‘loot.’  Alice’s personality is shown through the illustrations.  The illustrations are high-quality because they enhance what the text says.

            I would use this book with students in third to sixth grade.  Older children will get the most benefit from this book due to the language used and the subject matter.  This book should be read aloud to third grade and possibly fourth grade students.  This book would be great to read to an older audience as well.  High school students who study about President Roosevelt could have this book read aloud to them to discuss the time period or the life of President Roosevelt.  Younger children relate to Alice in that they hate following rules that do not make sense.  A character education lesson could cover the importance of behaving and obeying, but also the silly things that we call strange.  Younger children can also read this book when talking about the Presidents of the United States what life was like for their families.  I like this book because Alice is a fun character and I would have loved to meet her back in her time period!