Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major

Imagine if you lived in the White House! The first book centers around three of Theodore Roosevelt's children, Kermit, Ethel and Archie. Their mother is away and they are left in the charge of a comical nanny named Mrs. Duffit and their President father, who is very preoccupied with the visit from a quirky Russian Ambassador, Count Cassini. Eager to keep the children out of trouble, President Roosevelt sends his children on a treasure hunt--just like Treasure Island, only in the White House. There are mysteries popping out of Dolley Madison paintings and strange goings-on in the attic--and the result is a rollicking good time and a crash course in American history too. Ron Kidd has masterfully adapted the script from the original play into a novel for us, and Ard Hoyt's playful illustrations are interspersed throughout.

Ronald Kidd is the author of the highly acclaimed Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial, as well as On Beale Street. His novels of adventure, comedy, and mystery have received the Children's Choice Award, an Edgar Award nomination, and honors from the American Library Association, the Library of Congress, and the New York Public Library. He is a two-time O'Neill playwright who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ard Hoyt has illustrated a number of books, including the New York Times bestsellers I’m a Manatee by John Lithgow and The Hair of Zoe Fleefenbacher Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson. Ard lives with his wife and five daughters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

ISBN: 9781416948605
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: January 04, 2011

“Jackie Robinson integrated the major leagues in 1947, but off-season "barnstorming" games by pro players were integrated before World War II. The larger-than-life Satchel Paige and Dizzy Dean played, one black, one white, both possessed of unequaled skill, panache, and an innate sense of marketing. Imagine a country fighting economic upheaval and starved for heroes and entertainment. Add the precocious Bob Feller, whose fastball was measured at better than 104 miles per hour, and you have a new classic baseball book. Gay (Tris Speaker) shows these men bringing integrated competition to baseball fans far from big league stadiums, from Cuba to the Pacific coast. With events that defy the imagination. Highly recommended.” -- LIBRARY JOURNAL