Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt [Hardcover]

Don Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2009 | Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Teedie was not exactly the stuff of greatness: he was small for his size. Delicate. Nervous. Timid. By the time he was ten years old, he had a frail body and weak eyes. He was deviled by asthma, tormented by bullies. His favorite place to be was at home. Some might think that because of these things, Teedie was destined for a ho-hum life. But they would be wrong. For teeedie had a strong mind, as well as endless curiosity and determination. Is that all? No. Teedie also had ideas of his own--lots of them. It wasn't long before the world knew him as Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest president of the United States.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Young readers familiar with the burly, hale Teddy Roosevelt who lived for adventure will likely be surprised to learn that as a lad he was a sickly, nearsighted asthmatic. Yet this privileged city kid, bully-prey, decided early on never to let his frailties govern his ambitions. Brown uses copious quotations to good measure as he flits through Roosevelt’s young life. (The quotes are unsourced, though a bibliography is appended, including Roosevelt’s autobiography.) Roosevelt’s words help impart the man’s predilection for sternly poetic hyperbole: to get fit, “he paddled ‘in the hottest sun, over the roughest water, in the smallest boat.’” The artwork is what one expects from Brown—vignettes of scratchy pen-work that capture humor and drama with equal ease—and show Teddy’s progression from a wispy twig into a big stick. While this account may not possess the laser-beam focus of Brown’s recent compact histories Let It Begin Here and All Stations Distress (both 2008), it does have a more kid-friendly hook in the young man whose determination trumped his boyhood shortcomings. Grades 1-3. --Ian Chipman

Review

"Brown’s characteristically vigorous scrawls capture both the scrawny boy and the bulldog of a man, infusing his vignettes with a sizable helping of wit. All in all, this is a spot-on introductory book for lower grades."--Kirkus Reviews

"Line and wash illustrations add movement and a playful tone to the serious text, which generously incorporates quotes from Roosevelt . . . An author’s note concludes this brief overview and may well encourage youngsters to learn more about this fascinating figure."--School Library Journal, starred review

". . . vignettes of scratchy pen-work that capture humor and drama with equal ease—and shows Teddy’s progression from a wispy twig into a big stick . . . a more kid-friendly hook in the young man whose determination trumped his boyhood shortcomings."--Booklist

"Brown’s signature watercolors follow the text and, on the final page, provide a potent instructional summation as President Theodore Roosevelt stands at the bully pulpit while a hand-lettered text proclaims his accomplishments."--Horn Book

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (April 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618179992
• ISBN-13: 978-0618179992
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #65 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Einstein, Albert

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're going to simply fall in love with Teedie, the "undersize boy" who became a "larger-than-life man!", June 16, 2009

By 

D. Fowler "Dragonfly77" (Vermont) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt (Hardcover)

Teedie was a puny kid and about the only thing he had going for him . . . well, I'll have to think a while to figure out even one thing. He was a sickly asthmatic boy who couldn't even attend school and had to have tutors come to his home to give him lessons. The Roosevelts were a very wealthy family and could afford to do things like take their children on foreign vacations and best of all, take them to spend their summers in the country. Teedie, his brother and two sisters enjoyed their time in the country, but even being in the fresh air couldn't help him nor would the "Roosevelts' wealth." Ah, that thing Teedie had going for him was determination and a "strong mind." That would take him far in life.

His father and mother would worry about him and they even tried experimenting with fanciful cures such as having Teedie "gulp coffee or puff on a cigar." He exhibited insatiable curiosity and his father indulged him and let him grow in his own way. His frailty was a concern and his father encouraged physical fitness, something he readily embraced despite his physical limitations. Teedie's body, in the years to come, began to become strong. His tenacity was unmatched. Teddy "claimed he was just average." Would Teddy Roosevelt ever attain the expectations he had for himself in his mind?

This story and the artwork blended together superbly to make the young Teddy Roosevelt come to life. I suspect it was not an easy accomplishment because most people think of him as a Rough Rider and would never think or nor believe he was a sickly child. In the back of the book there is an illustration of Teddy with a brief timeline biography, an author's note with additional biographical information and a bibliography. You're going to simply fall in love with Teedie, the "undersize boy" who became a "larger-than-life man!"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teddy Roosevelt before he was awesome, February 2, 2010

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Teedie: The Story of Young Teddy Roosevelt (Hardcover)

We all know about TR, right? Rough Riders, teddy bear, once was shot in the middle of a speech and kept on talking for a whole HOUR AND A HALF, using his bleeding arm to gesture with? Made of pure, 110% unadulturated awesome? Also a conservationist and, you know, president? (One of the big ones, not like Polk or Fillmore or somebody.)

Well, you may not believe it, but back before he was awesome Teddy Roosevelt was a puny, weak, asthmatic little boy. (Apparently he never recovered from the asthma, he just lived around it. Fair enough.) No, it's true! So here is this whole book about TR as a kid and young adult and how he triumphed over his weaknesses through sheer force of will. He rides horses (and doesn't even notice his arm is broken once until several jumps had gone by, as a well-timed quote from the man himself indicates), he learns to box, he becomes a cowboy to recover from the death of his wife and his mother on the same day... well, the list goes on and on.

One note - "inspirational" tales about disability abound. Not everybody who is asthmatic or physically weak or disabled is going to be able to overcome these problems by "trying hard", and neither will all of them especially want to. This is a great book, and pretty accurate, but if you're giving it to inspire a disabled/weak/asthmatic friend, reconsider your motives. Then, when you're back to viewing this as a great true story, give it with an open heart. It's a great book. (It's a pity I even have to say this, but if you've ever been disabled you'll know how annoying it is to be told, in alternating breaths, both that you could get out of your wheelchair and walk if you wanted to/tried harder/prayed better and then that you're brave and inspirational for venturing out of the house at all.)

Also, please note that this is a lengthy book. Your younger children might not sit still long enough to get through it all. Save it for reading alone or for reading to an older crowd.