Module 4
Nonfiction and Biography
Biography

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Kerley, Barbara. 2008. WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?. Ill. By: Edwin Fotheringham New York, NY. Scholastic. ISBN 9780439922319

2.  PLOT SUMMARY
This delightful and humorous story centers on Alice Lee Roosevelt’s adventurous life as the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt.  A daughter that he had no control of because Alice danced to the beat of her own tune and didn’t always follow the rules.  She lives each day as an adventure with a delightful curiosity.  She always wanted to know more and learn new things.  Some called it “eating up the world.”  Alice’s mother died two days after she was home.  She traveled a lot with her father between New York and Washington D.C.  Alice was homeschooled, so she had a lot of time to roam the streets of Washington D.C. She read the books in her father’s library and became involved in her father’s political career.  Eventually, she became a goodwill ambassador.  Alice was loved by everyone even though her behavior was sometimes not acceptable.  Even as an adult Alice never stopped seeking adventure, traveling, and eating up the world living her life to the fullest.            

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is made up of full-page watercolor pictures describing the antics of Alice.  It also features double page spreads to complete some of the pictures.  The colors are vibrant as well as soft.  It is a very easy read and creates a humorous story to teach children history.  These are fun filled pages of the adventurous of Alice.  I think it is amazing how the illustrator does such a good job at showing Alice’s attitude, sass, and most of all her determination to “eat up the world” in her face throughout the book.  I like how the author would bold some word to make a point.  I noticed the words that he would bold would be describing Alice or something she did.  I like that it would be a good opportunity to expose your students to words that they might not hear on a regular basis.  I like that in the back of the book the author adds a section called “Author’s Note.”  It gives a little more insight about history not in a story form.          

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
The New York Times: “In her award-winning picture book biographies of Walt Whitman and Waterhouse Hawkins, Barbara Kerley has shown an affinity for iconoclasts, as she does once again in “What to Do About Alice?” Kerley reveals the essence of Alice in an upbeat account of her life, dramatizing Alice’s love of “eating up the world,” as she put it.”
Good Reads: “This is one of the shorter Sibert honor books, but still manages to pack a lot of information in about Alice, daughter of Teddy Roosevelt. The author's note at the end adds a LOT to the information presented in the book.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*This would be a good book to share when you are talking about the presidents.  Children would like to hear about their kids and what they were like.
*They could even right their own little stories about what they are like and how they treat their parents.