WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kerley, Barbara. 2008. What To Do About Alice?.  Scholastic Press.  ISBN: 0439922313.

PLOT SUMMARY
Theodore Roosevelt had a small problem and her name was Alice Lee Roosevelt.  She was his eldest daughter that just wanted to explore the world, meet new people, and just let loose.  He called her behavior "running riot" but, to her it was simply "eating up the world."  She knew how to turn every experience into an adventure.  She traveled, she gambled, she danced, and she drove a fast car all in which she did with much confidence.  She didn't let much bother her and she triumphed in each and every obstacle in life for she did not want people saying "the poor little thing."  She went on to marry Nicholas Longworth and became interested in politics.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is organized very nicely for young readers. The design is inviting and interesting.  The pictures are witty and vibrant just like Alice.  The reader will get a true understanding of Alice through the illustrations and the vivid writing.  This is a great biography with wonderful quotes like "running riot," "eating up the  world," "the poor little thing," and "let me loose in your library."   These quotes allows the reader to get a true meaning of the people in  the story. Great book for kids to make connections with and to relate to in a way that it is ok to be different. 

AWARDS & REVIEW EXERPTS
Awards
Sibert Honor Book
Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book
Irma Black Award Honor Book
Parents Choice Award
Washington State Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award
California Collections
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book
Capitol Choices
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Nominated for Young Reader awards in Texas, Illinois, Utah and Tennessee

Reviews
"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."   --School Library

"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."
                                            --Booklist

"It's hard to imagine a picture book biography that could better suit its subject than this high-energy volume serves young Alice Roosevelt."       
                                             --Publishers Weekly

CONNECTIONS
1) Have groups of students read about other presidents' children and have them compare the children.  Make a graph to show similarities and differences in all children.
2) Have the students define "eating up the world."  Then have the students come up with different ideas of what they would do to "eat up the world."  They can share their ideas via a PowerPoint presentation, Prezi, Animoto, or any other form using technology. 
3) Have the students write a biography about an interesting family member and have them title it What to do about ____? They must write about that person's personality, interests, special qualities, accomplishments, desires, mischiefs,  and hobbies.  Edit the book before publishing it and sending it to the person they wrote about.