The President's Daughter [Paperback]

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

ETHEL IS 10 YEARS OLD in 1901 when her family’s life changed forever. Suddenly, Father is not only a famous cowboy, war hero, and politician, but also President Theodore Roosevelt, leader of the United States—and Ethel has a new place to call home. The White House is older and stuffier than Ethel imagined, but there’s never a dull moment with her adventurous family around. Ethel would love to spend every day following Father on horseback rides and scrambles through neighboring Rock Creek Park.

Instead, Ethel has to stay at boarding school during the week, where nothing she does feels right and none of the girls seem to like her. Ethel’s parents keep telling her to keep her chin up and be patient, but it’s not easy being the president’s daughter. Ethel wishes she could be as courageous as father and make her family proud. When her fashionable older sister arrives home, Ethel feels new hope. Sister knows the secret of being brave and making friends, and she’s willing to share it. All Ethel needs to do is take one outrageous dare.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7–Ethel's life changes in an instant when her father, Theodore Roosevelt, becomes President of the U.S. after the McKinley assassination. The 10-year-old and her family move into the Executive Mansion, which Roosevelt renames the White House. It is a dark, musty place, filled with worn and garish furnishings. That doesn't stop Ethel and her brothers from having fun roller-skating in the basement and sneaking up to the roof. The girl is miserable, though, when her parents send her to the National Cathedral School. Being the president's daughter doesn't necessarily make life or finding friends any easier. She lives for the weekends when she can go home and dreads the return to school on Monday mornings. It's not until her older sister, Alice, challenges her to crawl under the table at a dinner in the East Room that Ethel finds the courage to fit in at school. Loaded with historical details, including Booker T. Washington's controversial invitation to dinner, the novel rings true and the people come to life. Ethel finds that along with privileges comes scrutiny from the press and the public, and the story aptly shows the dichotomy between the two.An author's note is included.–Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Bradley's fictionalized account focuses on Theodore Roosevelt's 10-year-old daughter, Ethel, and her experiences upon coming to live in the White House in 1901. As the only daughter of Edith and Theodore (older half-sister Alice was from Theodore's first marriage), Ethel grew up in a raucous household full of pets, roughhousing, and steely determination, where the family motto was "over and under but never around." The author describes what Ethel's life might have been like as a boarder at the National Cathedral School, and her treasured weekends at home at the White House. In an afterword, Bradley carefully sorts out the facts and the fictions of this story and appends an impressive list of sources. Aside from a few odd turns of phrase, this is a fascinating story. Kay Weisman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (July 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440419956
• ISBN-13: 978-0440419952
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.5 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #820,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Biography!, April 6, 2005

By 

E. Fox (Oregon Coast USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The President's Daughter (Hardcover)

This fictional autobiography is a lively portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt's youngest daughter, Ethel. Young readers will be amused by the antics of this 'rough riding' first family and will empathize with Ethel's conflicting feelings about being a first daughter. The story opens as T.R. receives a call in the night that McKinley had been shot, and we follow the family in their move to the 'dark and musty' White House, Ethel's enrollment at National Cathedral (boarding) School, and her joyous, tomboy visits home. Bradley's meticulous researching is well-reflected in the text, but it never becomes bogged down in biographical data. The dialogue is very well done, and characters and setting are rich in detail. It is a thoroughly enjoyable, engaging read for older elementary and younger middle school students and would be a wonderful read-aloud in a classroom studying US Presidents

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared to transplant yourself., March 13, 2007

By 

Kathleen Maggio (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The President's Daughter (Paperback)

As a small town librarian, I purchased this book to entice teens and preteens to read, as I was impressed with the author's first major book, Ruthies's Gift. I began reading The President's Daughter and couldn't put it down.

It transplants you into the body of President Teddy Roosevelt's 10-year old daughter. You actually feel that you experience her fear when Predident Garfield's assassination strips her from her home, and her friends, and puts her in a run-down mansion where she fears for herfather's life every time he ventures out. You share her rejection and loneliness when she is forced to move into a boarding school, and feel naughty exuberance as you both share some excapades with her indepedent half sister.

This is a great book for all ages and has every mark of being a classic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The President's Daughter, March 27, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The President's Daughter (Paperback)

Summary: This book is about 10 year old Ethel Roosevelt's early experience being president Theodore Roosevelt's daughter. It describes Ethel's family moving from Long Island to Washington D.C. Ethel has to go to the National Cathedral boarding school during the week, but she's relieved to go home to the White house on the weekends. She roller skates and bikes in the White House and rides her horse Wyoming outside in the gardens. She experiences many adventures other than those too.

Liked: I liked the way the author said that Theodore Roosevelt the first one to call the Executive Mansion the White House. I also like that Ethel is a tomboy who enjoys bike riding, roller skating, and going on scrambles with her family. I learned that scrambles are wet muddy hikes. She was famous and she got to do whatever she wanted and it made me want to be like her.

Disliked: I disliked the way the author made almost every chapter begin with a Monday and Ethel going back to boarding school. I didn't like these parts because every time the same thing happens. I like the White House parts better because they have more interesting events like Ethel driving the horses and riding in a wild car with her sister.

Rating: I would give this book a 4 because it was fun to read about Ethel's life growing up in the White House but there were parts of this book that were boring and repetitive.