THEODORE

An unabashedly reverent paean to the 26th president is light on biographical detail but heavy on inspiration. Wimmer’s gorgeously lit, heroic oils are the perfect complement to Keating’s narrative, in which TR addresses the reader in a series of declarative statements that sum up his accomplishments, of which the Presidency appears as just one of many: “I worked hard....I was the father of six children....I was a soldier....I was a builder....That was the life I lived.” This narrative choice results in TR’s quoting himself, a rather odd device that may well confuse some readers unclear on the narrator’s state of being: “ ‘The best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,’ I believed.” “Believed”? Not anymore? An author’s note delivers a swiftly conventional biographical sketch but unfortunately neglects to list other titles for interested readers—a shame, given that its aim is so clearly to ignite such an interest. As homage, its success is unquestionable; as biography, its achievement is a little more dubious. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)