Before there were movie stars or rock stars or TV celebrities, there was Alice. For a time, Alice was the most famous woman in America. And she didn't have to do anything but be herself.
As the beautiful teenage daughter of the President, newspaper reporters followed her around and wrote about her daily. She never disappointed them.
Everything that Alice did got attention--and not always the good kind. She smoked cigarettes when few women did and often walked around the White House with her pet snake wrapped around her neck. And she even named the snake: Emily Spinach.
Everyone wanted to know all about Alice. She liked to wear a light shade of blue that matched her eyes. "Alice Blue" became the must have color of the season.
Alice loved to be the center of attention. Just like her father, she was a wonderful storyteller. Alice was at her best in a small crowd of people, as they gathered around her, laughing in all of the right places.
Alice outlived all of her younger brothers and sisters. She lived happily in Washington until her death at age 96. By 1980, she had met every President along the way since her own father became President in 1901. She was said to have charmed them all.
2 comments:
I enjoyed reading about Alice! Never heard of her before, but she sounds like a character.
Found you via Verla Kay--on the picture book biography thread.
I was introduced to your wonderful blog via Andrea Smith's article at choiceliteracy.com. I love nonfiction, and had read the book about Alice (you should be very proud) plus being born in May 1947,
I have always felt a connection with Jackie Robinson.
I thought the story about Pres. Roosevelt and BTW was rather ironic given that we have a biracial president now. I wonder what he would think of that?
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