Theodore (Paula Wiseman Books)
Starred Review.Grade 2-6–This handsome, well-researched biography is as dignified as its subject. Using a spare, readable style, the author captures Roosevelts 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 nations 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 Wimmers 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. GeorgesYoure on Your Way, Teddy Roosevelt(Philomel, 2004) will still want to purchase Keatings book as it covers more of the mans life and is more eloquent, concise, and attractive.–Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public SchoolsCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.