Guaranteed, Malia and Sasha Obama are going to be famous first daughters. But long before Malia and Sasha made the White House their home, long before Jenna and Barbara, Chelsea or Amy, was Alice Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt’s oldest daughter and perhaps the most famous and celebrated first daughter ever.
What to Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic, 2008) tells the story of rambunctious Alice Roosevelt, who greeted White House guests with her pet snake, joined an all boys club, zoomed around Washington D.C. in her roadster, and danced all night at parties. Her father Teddy “called it ‘running riot.’ Alice called it, ‘Eating up the world.’”
“I can be president of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do BOTH!” said President Roosevelt. Although her mother died when Alice was two and Alice wore leg braces for many years as a child, Alice possessed just as much “bully” as her bold and adventurous father. Her “zest for fun” made her a 1900′s celebrity and irresistible material for gossip columns. Nicknamed “Princess Alice,” Alice had babies named after her, songs written about her, and famous shenanigans that boosted her father’s popularity.
Spunky kids everywhere (and kids who wish they were) will love reading What to Do About Alice? The book offers an adventurous romp into the life of the spunky first daughter who was so famous she was called “the other Washington Monument.”
This book is a favorite. My son had his reservations until we got the part about Alice’s pet. And I discovered the background of the song, “Alice Where Are You Going,” that my great aunt used to sing to us. Fun when family history and real history come together!
–SueBE