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Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J 921 ROOSEVELT | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
His name was Theodore, but he is remembered as Teddy. As a young boy, he was a dreamer and a reader and had a curiosity about life he could never satisfy. As the youngest man to ever be president, he led a nation to greatness and he made every day count.
Frank Keating's telling of incidents in Roosevelt's rich and varied life reminds readers how one person can make a difference. Mike Wimmer's exuberant paintings make Roosevelt come to life a century after his presidency.
Author Notes
Frank Keating has held many positions in public office, including Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Treasury and Associate Attorney General of the United States. He was elected Governor of Oklahoma in 1995 and completed his term in January of 2003. He lives in Oklahoma.
Mike Wimmer has illustrated many books for children, including Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth by Robert Burleigh, which was named an ALA Notable Children's Book and was called a "grand slam" in a starred review in Publishers Weekly. He also illustrated Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh by Robert Burleigh, which received the Orbis Pictus Award for nonfiction. He lives in Georgia with his family.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Pairing a lyrical narrative with oil paintings that capture landscapes as precisely as portraits, this distinctive volume provides an accessible overview of the life of Theodore Roosevelt from the team behind Will Rogers: An American Legend. Keating assumes the engaging first-person voice of the 26th president, shaping a personal profile that incorporates actual quotations from Roosevelt. The rich, composite portrait that emerges depicts Roosevelt as an inquisitive lover of nature and insatiable reader. From a rather sickly child, he grew into an enthusiastic participant in many family adventures around the world as an adolescent, a prolific writer as a young man and, in subsequent years, an energetic cattle rancher in the Dakota Territory. He was also a devoted and high-spirited father, a decorated soldier and a dedicated public servant who, at 42, became the youngest man ever to ascend to the office of president (at that time). Occasionally, it may be difficult for readers to distinguish which are actual quotes from Roosevelt and which are the author's interpretation (e.g., "I wrote thirty-five books in all, always celebrating `the joy of life and the duty of life' "). But Wimmer's (Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth) artwork remains photographically clear. His remarkably lifelike artwork gives readers the sense of spying on the president in his most intimate moments, at his desk or with his children, and lends additional dimension to the many facets of Roosevelt's personality. Ages 6-9. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This picture book biography of the twenty-sixth president is told in the first person: Roosevelt, for example, says ""I worked hard"" and ""before I was thirty, I headed west--to Dakota Territory."" The text does not give readers enough of a feeling for the man, and even Wimmer's handsome paintings are more beautiful than informative. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6-This handsome, well-researched biography is as dignified as its subject. Using a spare, readable style, the author captures Roosevelt's spirit and determination. Frequent childhood illness and a fascination with animals and the natural world made Roosevelt an avid reader. Nevertheless, he traversed the globe with his family: "By age fifteen-I had hunted jackals on horseback, climbed the Great Pyramid, and peered into a volcano." Beginning with the diary he kept at age 10, he wrote 35 books in his lifetime. He was also a rancher, hunter, soldier, father of six, governor of New York, and the nation's youngest president. Though Keating takes the liberty of narrating the text in the first person, the liberal use of quotations lends authority and authenticity to the account. Readers will note that although the subject suffered from asthma and poor eyesight, he was able to prevail through hard work and integrity. Each page of italicized text is printed on what appears to be aged parchment; it faces one of Wimmer's luminous oil-on-canvas illustrations. The accomplished paintings further reveal the subject and his world-be it reading in his sickbed, examining a nest of baby birds, riding a camel, playing with his children, or giving a speech. Libraries that own Judith St. George's You're on Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt (Philomel, 2004) will still want to purchase Keating's book as it covers more of the man's life and is more eloquent, concise, and attractive.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An unabashedly reverent paean to the 26th president is light on biographical detail but heavy on inspiration. Wimmer's gorgeously lit, heroic oils are the perfect complement to Keating's narrative, in which TR addresses the reader in a series of declarative statements that sum up his accomplishments, of which the Presidency appears as just one of many: "I worked hard. . . . I was the father of six children. . . . I was a soldier. . . . I was a builder. . . . That was the life I lived." This narrative choice results in TR's quoting himself, a rather odd device that may well confuse some readers unclear on the narrator's state of being: " 'The best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,' I believed." "Believed"? Not anymore? An author's note delivers a swiftly conventional biographical sketch but unfortunately neglects to list other titles for interested readers--a shame, given that its aim is so clearly to ignite such an interest. As homage, its success is unquestionable; as biography, its achievement is a little more dubious. (Picture book/biography. 6-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
