Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!

This book is a biography about Theodore Roosevelt's personal and entire life. It talks about how as a kid he had bad asthma and was hypnotized by nature and it's beauty. He even had his own museum in his attic. Again with his asthma, Teddy’s father pushed him and his body to great limits in order to strengthen his lungs. He went to college, wrote a book, met his wife, married, and had a daughter. But when his wife birthed his daughter she died. On the same day his wife died his mother died as well. He became active in New York politics to distract himself from his losses. He also traveled to the Midwest and hunted buffalo with a guide. When he returned to New York he was elected as Vice President. He later married again. In 1900 he show more became President of the United States due to McKinley's assassination. During his term he, in some way, helped Panama start a rebellion and started the construction of the Panama Canal. He was elected again and did much during that term as well such as establish the National Parks Foundation. Roosevelt then went on an expedition to Africa to hunt some of its wildlife. He came back, and was for President again in 1912. After that Roosevelt continued to hunt and such and later died in 1919.

This book was not like one I would usually read. I got it from Mr. Kiefer and decided I’d give it a try. To my surprise it was a very good book. It was written very well and a slight challenge to read. And it was interesting, I thought it would be hard to read about some president. But it turns out Theodore Roosevelt was an extremely interesting guy. Over all a very good book. I would totally recommend it to anyone who like learning about U.S. history or that enjoys biographies. show less

Funny, engaging, well-written

Fritz, J. (1991). Bully for you, Teddy Roosevelt! New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

“Bully” was the word that Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt said whenever something was especially “splendid.” Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt provides a chronological account of Teddy Roosevelt’s life. The biography begins with his birth. Roosevelt was a sickly, scared child. He frequently had asthma attacks. He thought that “zeal” was a ferocious animal. Then the biography describes his first marriage to Alice Lee and his political career. Initially Roosevelt was interested in the district’s Republican headquarters. Soon he became an assemblyman, police commissioner, Secretary of Navy, governor of New York, and eventually president of the show more United States.

The overriding theme in this biography is unrelenting determination. It is Roosevelt’s perseverance that will interest today’s young children, especially those who have encountered many obstacles in their lives. Roosevelt did not let his physical ailments prevent him from enjoying life. In fact, he pushed himself to learn, to take risks, and to be physically active.

Fritz provides a bibliography and notes to support her documentation. She gracefully weaves significant and interesting quotes, which bring the biography to life. She tries to offer a multidimensional account of Roosevelt by describing his strengths and weaknesses.

Although the book was enjoyable to read, I felt that the biography somewhat glossed over certain key events. She only briefly mentions how some people criticized the way the United States obtained the Panama Canal. She omitted how the Canal damaged our relations with Colombia. Fritz also discussed how Roosevelt broke up corporations. This is only partially true. While he was called a “trust buster,” he did not dissolve all trusts.

Aside from these two points, the biography is engaging. It was listed as one of School Library Journal’s Best Books of 1989. It is appropriate for upper elementary students. show less

If you dare to saddle up for this feisty read...you won't be disappointed! This book about one of America's greatest hero's will leave your head spinning with questions about "How'd he do that?"
Classroom Use: Make a map of all the places Teddy went and create a legend that describes each place.

Reading this book took me back to the days of US AP History. Teddy Roosevelt had one of the most remarkable lives one could have and Jean Fritz book about him helped to prove this point. Fritz talked about his life as a politician, conservationist, and his will to overcome life threatening illnesses. This book is intended for young readers but I would share his story to anyone who would listen. I especially loved the rich pictures. Overall, great book!

This book does an excellent job of depicting Teddy Roosevelt's adventurous life. It gives the smallest of details (such as his speech patterns) that helps us to understand him better. His life is kind of an under-dog story seeing as how he started out as a small, sickly child and adventured his way to being president.

THIS BIOGRAPHY OF TEDDY ROOSEVELT TAKES YOU THROUGH THE LIFE OF TEDDY. IT BEGINS WHEN HE WAS JUST A SICKLY LITTLE BOY AND TAKES YOU THROUGH HIS DEATH. ITS SPEEKS VOLUMES OF HIS CHARACTER THAT HE THOUGHT HIS REGIMENT HAVING THE HIGHEST CAUSUALTIES MEANT THEY WERE THE BRAVEST. IT WAS INTERESTING FOR AN INFORMATIONAL BOOK, BUT I SEE THIS MORE AS A BOOK A TEACHER WOULD ASSIGN THEN A READ A CHILD MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP ON THIER OWN.