| Title | : | To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 142312488X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781423124887 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 48 |
| Publication | : | First published December 17, 2013 |
President Theodore Roosevelt is known as "the man with a plan," the "rough rider." His figure stands tall in American history; his legacy stretching him to larger-than-life proportions.
But before his rise to fame, he was just "Teedie," a boy with ambitious dreams to change the world, and the conviction to see his stupendous imaginings brought to fruition.
As an American president, he left an impressive mark upon his country. He promised a "square deal" to all citizens, he tamed big businesses, and protected the nation's wildlife and natural beauty. His fearless leadership assured that he would always be remembered, and his robust spirit now dares others to do mighty things.
In her moving picture book portrait, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport uses her well-honed approach of personal quotes and vivid prose to spin together the tale of a sickly boy who became a monumental man. Coupled with C. F. Payne's dramatic artwork, the story of President Teddy, touchstone of American history, is brought to life.
To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt Reviews
-
I LOVE how the jacket cover of this book captures the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt. I'm a fan of Doreen Rappaport and enjoyed learning more about the big personality of the 26th president. He certainly lived an extraordinary life. Great quotes, information, and illustrations.
-
"I would rather go out of politics feeling that I had done right than stay, knowing I have acted as I ought not to."
It's refreshing to read about a politician who actually makes a positive difference in the world! One that is more concerned about doing right by his constituents. "An office holder must do his duty for the whole people, not for any party or any faction." A man who overcame childhood maladies and had a big vision for change "We are not building this country for a day. It is to last through the ages." .A very readable account for students
When we ask students to do research into the impact a person has, they don't always understand what type of evidence to look for. This is a great book to read to them to give them examples of impact. I'll be doing a note-taking focus lesson and using this book for my source. A nice bibliography at the back for additional research. I also like the primary source quotes integrated into the text. -
A larger-than-life picture book biography of Teddy Roosevelt. Quotes are woven into the narrative which helps readers get a feel for Roosevelt's passions and motivations.
The narrative didn't read as completely free of bias which had a tendency of taking me out of the story just when I was getting comfortable.
Back matter includes an Important Events timeline, selected reserch sources, further reading and recommended websites.
The artwork was epic and leaves a lasting impression. Grades 3-5+. -
This book is well done. Actual quotes from TR are scattered throughout, and integrated into the narrative. The oversized picture book has colorful artwork and the text complements the illustrations, which illuminate the content of the narrative well. Best of all, it includes the major information I wanted to impart to my kids about Roosevelt, his career, the Maine and ensuing war with Spain, his rise to the presidency, his family, trust-busting, conservation, and imperialist tendencies. The end papers include a nice timeline and bibliography. Good book for read aloud and for kids' homework.
-
Teddy Roosevelt came alive in the pages of this book, his tenacity and love of adventure. This is a book that can inspire young readers to learn more about history because it brought the past alive in words and pictures.
-
An interesting and engaging biography of President Teddy Roosevelt. I liked (as I have in other books by Rappaport) the inclusion of some of Roosevelt's actual words.
-
The author and illustrator effectively bring this larger than life figure vividly to life in this accessible, boldly illustrated introduction.
-
By far the best choice on the cover was to put nothing but the big blown up face of Teddy Roosevelt on the cover.
A wonderful picture book biography that highlights (because he was so well-written) the quotes attributed to him start to finish in large text. He was a champion for conserving land and animals having created many national parks and monuments that was a carryover from a full-life well lived in and around the country. When he was younger, he collected wild and dead things and put them up in a museum around his room and wrote about them. He did this while trying to strengthen a body that was fighting against him.
I didn't know about his wife and mother dying after the birth of his daughter and how he spent a few years in solitude to recover going on to be much love and much hated in various positions he held.
'I've got to life that sort of life, I don't care how short it is.'
'It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.'
'No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way.' -
Well researched and written. Inspiring story.
-
A pretty good child's picture book biography. But Teddy Roosevelt always comes across bigger than life. So this book neither feels like a stand out or anything close to complete. But the art is better than typical as is the writing. There are lots of words for a picture book but not too many and it is well written. Many of the words are Roosevelt's own, but that doesn't get in the way.
-
This biography of Teddy Roosevelt uses many of his own words to tell his story. Teddy Roosevelt, a sickly child, worked hard to overcome his physical limitations, and to make a difference in public life. He was certainly brave, and dedicated to reform. He was fervidly committed to conservation of natural resources. His evangelical-like crusade against big business and reputation as a “trust-buster” has stuck with him to this day. Rappaport quotes Roosevelt as maintaining, “I acted for the well-being of all our people.” TR did not, however, act for the well-being of non-white people. Rappaport totally omits this aspect of TR in this hagiography for kids.
In fact, TR bought into (and himself espoused) the eugenics theories of the time that inspired the rise of the Nazi Party a generation later. He saw life as a violent struggle between the strong and the weak, with whites being “the forward race” and blacks and others “intellectually inferior.”
While TR is known for inviting Booker T. Washington, a black man, to the White House, as PBS
points out, “Roosevelt invited Washington not to improve the situation of blacks, but because they agreed that blacks should not strive for political and social equality.” Roosevelt’s Administration actually decreased the number of federal appointments to blacks, with Roosevelt promising Southerners that he would appoint local federal officials that would not disrupt the accord between north and south.
Roosevelt
advocated that whites should breed as much as possible – otherwise they risked “race suicide”.
His racist attitudes extended to all non-whites. Of Native Americans, he said in an 1886 speech:
"I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of 10 are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the 10th. The most vicious cowboy has more moral principle than the average Indian.”
He defended the Government’s treatment of Indians by observing:
"This continent had to be won. We need not waste our time in dealing with any sentimentalist who believes that, on account of any abstract principle, it would have been right to leave this continent to the domain, the hunting ground of squalid savages. It had to be taken by the white race.”
The book extols TR for setting up many national parks, but makes no mention of the Natives who were displaced by them.
TR also endeavored to stem Japanese immigration,
writing:
"To permit the Japanese to come in large numbers into this country would be to cause a race problem and invite and insure a race contest. It is necessary to keep them out.”
Unfortunately, the list could go on. But this book, like so many others, firmly sweeps American racism under the rug.
The illustrations by C.F. Payne, however, are marvelous.
End notes include a list of important events in the life of Theodore Roosevelt, and a list of both books and websites for more information.
Evaluation: This is a good overview of the positive qualities of Theodore Roosevelt, with gorgeous illustrations.
Rating: 3.5/5 -
Twin Text: Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty. Copyright 2013
Rationale: Rosie Revere is a brilliant young woman with a penchant for crafting and building machines with whatever she can find. By doing this she is able to find an outlet for her creativity, but that doesn't mean she is as outgoing as she is clever. To others she seems quiet, thus no one knows about her talents, until her great aunt Rosie (the riveter) helps her to discover her true self. In To Dare Mighty Things, Theodore Roosevelt's young life is examined, and it is shown that he was small and sickly as a child. The book goes in depth with his struggles, and the great lengths that he went to, to make his body as strong as his mind was, and how it shaped him into the person that he was as an adult. Pairing these books together can help the students to see that big or small, healthy or sickly, quiet or brash, everyone can make a difference and realize their potential with enough effort.
Text Structure: As a biography book, this follows a clear chronological structure. However, it also follows a distinct problem/solution by showing the various hardships, both personal and political, that Roosevelt faced, and the ways that he overcame. There is evidence of cause and effect based on the ways that he solved his problems especially in his youth, and everything is described well in depth.
Strategy Application: After reading these books, I want to use the period after reading to have the children consider hardships that they have faced personally. Now, due to the potentially volatile nature of asking students to talk about a hardship they have faced on paper in class, I will specify talking about themselves, not family or social hardships. After writing a hardship they faced, I will have them discuss how they overcame it, and if they didn't overcome it, then how they think they could. I will then share hardships and how they were conquered without any names attached, showing that everyone has hardships to overcome and that it helps to make them stronger.
Review. (2013. December, 15) Booklist.
http://www.booksinprint.com/DetailedV...# -
Teddy Roosevelt doesn’t care one whit what you or I think; he is going to do just what he thinks is best. That’s what I learned from this book. The man had a death wish, I think, and let me just go ahead and say it: if I worked in the White House at the time I’m afraid his children would have driven me insane. I’m pretty sure I would’ve thought, “How can he run the country when he won’t even control his own children?!”
However, I think when kids read it they’ll notice the ways Roosevelt was like them—he had asthma, he loved to read books about animals, he wanted to be an explorer, a mountain climber, brave and bold. Perhaps his courage and determination will inspire some children to their own form of greatness.
I appreciate the way Doreen Rappaport extracts characteristic quotes from her subjects and places emphasis on them to draw readers’ attention. I also love the cover illustration of President Roosevelt laughing; right off the bat it gives a real sense that he was such a happy man and it reinforces the last quotes in the book, one of which reads, “No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way.”
This book is on the 2016 Oklahoma Sequoyah book award master list, and I’m so glad. Some of our children will be introduced to this man who dared to do mighty things for the very first time. -
This book is part of the
Big Words series of picture books by
Doreen Rappaport. It offers a short, but interesting and informative biography about President
Theodore Roosevelt.
The narrative is short and filled with quotes, while the illustrations are very vivid and realistic and depict President Roosevelt throughout his life.
The description of his transformation from a sickly, weak child to the leader of the United States is engaging and dramatic. Young readers will likely be surprised by his maverick military exploits and impressed with his dedication to preserving our nation's forest preserves and creating national parks.
The back of the book includes notes by the author and illustrator, as well as a chronology of the President's life and research sources for further study.
interesting quotes:
"Children make all other forms of success lose their importance by comparison." (p. 32)
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." (p. 42) -
I didn't comb through all of the reader reviews on Goodreads to check for certain, but did anyone notice the rather significant factual error in this book? If you didn't, don't feel bad, the School Library Journal and Booklist missed it too.
Here is the passage in question:
"Roosevelt wanted to buy land in Panama
to build a canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Panama's government refused.
When a local revolt started in 1903,
Roosevelt sent troops to help the rebels.
The rebels won."
It was the Colombia that refused the purchase. Panama was a Colombian province at the time. When the Panamanian revolted, Roosevelt sent warships to fend off a Colombian invasion of the isthmus, but other than that, I don't think U.S. troops actually took part in the fighting.
Other than the error, I thought this was a good book with wonderful illustrations. There's nothing like reading about Theodore Roosevelt to make you feel like an underachiever in life! -
To Dare Mighty Things was a very interesting book starting from the cover page. The cover page had a big picture of Teedie Roosevelt on it with a big hat on and the title of the book in the back. To me this showed me that the author really cared about the person in the book. The book took us through the life of Roosevelt from when he was a little boy and through his days in politics.
The story had quotes from president Roosevelt himself which I thought were extremely cool. That myself made the book even more credible because his own words were being put in the book. The story also got very personal because the author mentioned the death of his mother and wife who died very close to one another. There are many lessons children can learn from this book because of how great of a person Roosevelt was. The picture in this book were second to none when it came to the quality and how they complemented the text. -
I love all things Teddy Roosevelt he is by far my favorite US President. Doreen Rappaport through quotes by Teddy and her own text paints a larger than life portrait. Roosevelt was responsible for reigning in business so that the little guys had an equal opportunity at the American Dream, he cleaned up the meat packing industry, he created our National Parks system, and he started the end of child labor. These were just a few of his many accomplishments and what he gave to the future of this great nation. Illustrator C.F. Payne leaves with images that allow you to feel the energy and enthusiasm of this remarkable man of the people.
-
There is just enough here (although my older brain wished for a bit more) to introduce young children to the mighty Theodore Roosevelt!
It is very well done! The illustrations are spot on, and the text is even better. The smaller font tells the story, while the words in bigger type are direct quotes from Mr. Roosevelt, himself.
Some of the quotes that made an impact to this reader:
"We are not building this country for a day. It is to last through the ages."
"Our aim is to control business, not strangle it."
"Indeed I think I should go mad if I were not employed."
"There is no greater issue than that of conservation in this country." -
Gorgeous illustrations, mixing between vast landscape pieces, zoomed in action-scenes (the Roosevelt children playing in the White House is particularly hilarious) and symbolic pictures echoing early political cartoons. Frankly, the illustrations carry this book. The text includes lots of simplified quotes from Roosevelt, and covers his life from a small child to his death. I have to admit, this book taught me things I didn't know about him, and made me appreciate him more, considering he's one of my least favorite presidents. Great children's biography, and the end materials include both a timeline, selected resources, and "further research," which is helpful for kids writing reports.
-
I love the opportunity to introduce Theodore Roosevelt to kids each year within our curriculum. He's a figure in history who instantly grabs their attention, and in hearing his true tales, they become fascinated! It's one of my favorite topics that are thrust upon us due to our reading/writing curriculum, and it's important to find some other texts to accompany the one we focus on as an anchor. This is a fantastic book to go along with our work. It's presented in nice, full page illustrations, and the content is much easily presented to young students in comparison to the biography we read.
-
My sister kindly checked this out from the library for me because she knows of my obsession with and undying love for Theodore Roosevelt. Full of great quotes from the man himself with their context explained. The illustrations depicting scenes from his life are beautiful, and though the heads of each figure are disproportionately large it's somewhat endearing and expresses TR's larger than life character. I think it's a great introduction for elementary school children (ages 8-11) but is nice for grown-ups to enjoy as well.
-
It is amazing how much information is conveyed in so few lines with vivid full page illustrations. Doreen Rappaport's picture-book-formatted biography covers Theodore Roosevelt's life from birth to death, and incorporates numerous quotes by him. The illustrations by C.F. Payne seem to be larger than life, just like Teddy Roosevelt was. This could be used as an introduction in classes from third grade on up. It may entice readers to try more in-depth biographies of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a beautiful package.
-
This book would be used in a 3rd grade social studies class. In this book they learn about the President of the United States, and the effect Theodore Roosevelt had on our National Parks and the Midwest.
As a twin text I would read My Name is Not Alexander by Jennifer Fosberry. This book would also tie in with the social studies lesson because we can see other famous men and their roles in changing the United States.
Fosberry, J., & Litwin, M. (2011). My name is not Alexander. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. -
Being in college now, it has been a while since I read much about Theodore Roosevelt. Thanks to my Children's Literature class, I wanted to find a historical fiction book to read, and found this story about Teddy. Filled with interesting facts and an incedible story, I got to once again read about the resilient, strong nature of Theodore Roosevelt.
Not only is the book interesting, but the illustrations are very well done, and bring life to a figure from another time. I really enjoyed learning more about Teddy's life and accomplishments through Rappaport's book. -
As a child “Teedie”, Teddy Roosevelt, had asthma and was sickly. He collected animal and bird specimens, as well as live animals that appeared in unpredictable places throughout the Roosevelt home. While at Harvard he kept a giant tortoise in his room. President Teddy went on to sign a treaty to build the Panama Canal and became the first American to Win the Nobel Peace Prize. Fantastic illustrations! Reviewer 27
-
Like the other Doreen Rappaport biographies, this one hits all the right marks. Simply and clearly told, the book strips the story down to its essentials while keeping the vivacity. The illustrations by C.F. Payne in soft natural hues are bold in composition. Quotes by Teddy Roosevelt are in a large font, which flavors this book with authenticity while the text fills in the back story. Great intro for elementary school ages into the life of Teddy Roosevelt and America in the early 1900s.
-
Rappaport's bio finally brings across the gregarious personality of Roosevelt that made him such a magnetic and memorable figure. I've always thought Roosevelt was interesting, but Rappaport's writing really emphasizes his forcefulness and his enthusiasm for life. His set backs and perhaps less-than-popular decisions are all there, as is his rich family life. A great introduction to a truly fascinating figure - the cover says it all.
