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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSOn October 14, 1912, a man shoots Theodore Roosevelt outside a hotel in Milwaukee, and the folded fifty-page speech in his pocket helps save his life. Though he is bleeding, the former president insists on giving his speech anyway. The book starts on that day and then goes back to 1858, when Roosevelt is born into a wealthy New York City family. As a boy called Teedie, he battles asthma, learns to read from his aunt Annie, writes a book about insects at age nine, and brings home snakes and frogs that sometimes get loose in the house. Getting glasses at thirteen shows him how beautiful the world is, and a trip down the Nile River in Egypt awakens his love of hunting. From there the book follows him to Harvard, the New York State Assembly, a ranch in the Dakota Badlands, the New York City police, and the war in Cuba, as he collects nicknames like TR, the Trust Buster, and Bull Moose, plus Teddy, the one he hates.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a boy get glasses at thirteen and discover how beautiful the world is?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
Poor eyesight made studying nature, and studying in general, more difficult for Teedie. He later wrote that he "had no idea how beautiful the world was" until he got glasses at age thirteen.
- First half
In what book does one man catch six police officers breaking the rules in a single night?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
On his hot summer night patrol, police commissioner Roosevelt caught a total of six officers breaking the rules. The next morning he yelled at them about the importance of doing their duty and promised to fine them if he caught them misbehaving again.
- First half
In what book does a horse named Little Texas carry an officer through one-hundred-degree heat?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
On July 1, 1898, the Rough Riders were sent to help capture the town of El Caney. Roosevelt rode a horse named Little Texas as his men marched in heat that soared to one hundred degrees.
- Second half
In what book does a daughter carry a pet snake named Emily Spinach in her purse?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
Alice Roosevelt, sometimes called Princess Alice, owned a pet snake named Emily Spinach. She sometimes carried it in her purse while her father was president.
- Second half
In what book does a boy hack a garden hose with a fire ax during a pretend battle?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
During one of the boys' battles at the White House, Quentin hacked a garden hose with a fire ax. His father rushed out into the garden and told him that it wasn't right to destroy government property.
- Near the end
In what book does a passenger call his airplane ride "the finest experience I have ever had"?
✓ Answer
Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
In 1910, Roosevelt became the first US president to fly in an airplane, climbing in beside the pilot at an airfield in Missouri. Eight years earlier, he had been the first president to ride in a car.
