A Bully Father: Theodore Roosevelt's Letters to His Children

by Joan Patterson Kerr

The Roosevelt family, with its rambunctious father and six children, invaded and occupied the White House as no other family has since. Roosevelt was a wonderful father, writing to his children, guiding them, playing with them and loving them as do only the best fathers. Long out of print, these personal letters are warm, wonderfully wise and witty--the best things Teddy Roosevelt ever wrote. Photos.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Presidents, Parenting, Historical, Biography Memoir

260 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 1995

Reviews

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Theodore Roosevelt and really enjoyed reading these letters written to his children during his presidency. No wonder he was so beloved as a father. He was genuinely smitten with all his children and in love with his wife Edith and was not afraid to show it. These letters provide snippets of TR’s vigorous life. For a better story, read Sagamore Hill by Hagedorn.

[Christopher Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my site: cdoylehughes.com.
I am a pretty big Theodore Roosevelt fan. Last year, our county library had their annual book sale, and I bought every biography on TR that I could find. I planned to start them in January as there were already some other books I was reading that needed to be finished. My original plan was to read a biography once a month, but unfortunately my Masters of Divinity quickly got in the way of my personal reading, and so, I just finished my first Roosevelt bio for the year.

I was so excited about reading A Bully Father: Theodore Roosevelt’s Letters to His Children. It was my first pick of the year, which I began on January 1. It was not quite what I expected. Let me point out what I enjoyed, then what I was not quite thrilled about, and then I will end on a high note.

First, if you aren’t familiar with the term “Bully,” it was something that Roosevelt used like we would use “awesome” or “fantastic,” so it doesn’t mean one who pushes others around or beats someone up. That being said. . . The actual biography in this book was not at all bad. Joan Paterson Kerr, who wrote the biographical essay (80 pages), did an excellent job writing the highlights of TR’s life. For anyone who isn’t too familiar with the 26th President, but doesn’t want to wade into the waters of a more well-known bio, like Edmund Morris’s trilogy, this would be the one I would recommend. My favorite story she told of the president was when Roosevelt went up into the attic to play with his children and their friends. One young boy turned out the lights and TR banged his head on a board. He chided the children and went down to clean the blood off his forehead. When he returned, he found the boy (Looker) who turned off the lights, stuffed into a trunk with the others sitting on it. Roosevelt could hear the fear from within the trunk and ordered the children off it. “‘Suddenly the lid opened,’ Looker recalled, “and TR looked down into my face. He was quick with his handkerchief, too, wiping my face, and almost as quick to say, “He’s broken out in a sweat! The moth-balls have got into his eyes, and may them water!” This he said, to explain his wiping away the tears which I thought was fine of him,'” (pp 79-80). I think that was fine of him as well.

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the book is Roosevelt’s letters to his children. In all transparency, I have not read any of Roosevelt’s letters outside this book, however, I have read much that he has written. I was hoping for some sage, fatherly advice about life or decision-making. If that is what you are seeking then you won’t find it in these letters. However, if you are looking for something to humanize the “old lion” legend that is Teddy Roosevelt, this is the book you want. He talks about various sports, finding or receiving new pets, the death of other pets, horse-back riding, and many, many other subjects. Since I was hoping for something different, I was quite disappointed in what I received. So reader beware; know what it is you want.

However, as I stated, I want to end on a high note, as Kerr did. At the end of the book, in the Epilogue, Ms. Kerr gave a one page bio sketch of each of TR’s children, mainly dealing with their adult life, and what they accomplished or how they died. While one could easily Google this information, I enjoyed Kerr’s quick summary. It closed out the book nicely.

All in all, the book was well-written, and quite interesting. I gave it three stars on good-reads. The book itself is 255 pages, not including the acknowledgements. Published by Random House in 1995, with the Foreward by the David McCullough, the biographical sketch would be recommended to a TR newbie, but the letters themselves may be too mundane for one who is not at least moderately interested in reading his own words. Again, I could find no sage advice; nothing to live by, thus nothing like what one may come to expect from Roosevelt. Thus, I would recommend checking out the book from a library or Overdrive, but reading only the bio sketch of both the President at the beginning and the children at the end.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bully Father by Joan Paterson Kerr is a great follow-up to David McCullough’s “Mornings on Horseback”. It follows the death of TR’s first wife and continues with the marriage of TR to longtime friend, Edith. Subsequently, they add 5 more children, for a total of 6.

The first 85 pages of the book are Kerr’s synopsis of TR and family up to and through the White House years. It is lighthearted, causes some laughs, and imparts interesting family info. I noted that the Boone and Crockett hunting group was started by TR. This still exists today (much to my chagrin).

In the letters that follow, there were a few to Joel Chandler Harris, who wrote the Uncle Remus stories (which were popular with TR and his children.). I noted a story they especially liked entitled “Free Joe” and have downloaded it to read later. TR was a great reader and there are many references to classic books.

[Eddie Callaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I read about the great Theodore Roosevelt the more and more I love him. He not only was an exceptional leader and conservationist but a wonderful father.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teddy Roosevelt was great man-father-friend-president, etc. TR was a man who truly loved his six children immensely. Teddy encouraged them to be physically active, to learn new things in the 'wilderness," at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay. Teddy became McKinley's running mate in the election of 1900. He campaigned vigorously across the country, helping McKinley win reelection by a landslide on a platform of peace, prosperity, and conservatism.

McKinley was the 25th President of the US, and was shot and fatally wounded on September 6, 1901, inside the Temple of Music on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was shaking hands with the public when he was shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. The President died on September 14 from gangrene caused by the bullet wounds. McKinley became the third American president to be assassinated, following Lincoln (1865) and Garfield (1881). TR, at age 42 yrs., become President of the United States, the youngest in history. TR married Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt (7/29/1861 – 2/14/1884) was an American socialite and the first wife of President Theodore Roosevelt. Less than two days after giving birth to their only child, Roosevelt died from Bright's Disease (kidney disease).

After his trips, TR married his childhood and family friend, Edith Kermit Carow (8/6/1861 – 9/30/1948). The couple honeymooned in Europe, and while there, Roosevelt led a group to the summit of Mont Blanc, an achievement that resulted in his induction into the Royal Society of London. hey had five children: Theodore "Ted" III (1887–1944), Kermit (1889–1943), Ethel (1891–1977), Archibald (1894–1979), and Quentin (1897–1918). At the time of Ted's birth, Roosevelt was both eager and worried for Edith after losing his first wife, Alice, shortly after childbirth. Daughter Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was quite socialite. She was the oldest child, and the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee.

I truly enjoyed this book. There are many handwritten outdoor stories, on the inside hard covers. Most precious (for me) was LIFE WITH FATHER. Edith's 1894 photography of TR playing a strenuous game of ball with his children show what he loves most, romping with his children.

image of Teddy and his children: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_R...
Roosevelt family in 1903 with Quentin on the left, TR, Ted, Archie, Alice, Kermit, Edith, and Ethel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_R...
Alice Roosevelt with her dog, Leo, a long-haired Chihuahua. She was also given a Pekingese named Manchu, by the last Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi in 1902

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Other than the caricatures in all those political cartoons, I know next to nothing about Teddy Roosevelt. It was a real eye-opener then to learn through his letters that he was a funny and ebullient man who loved his six children more than almost anything else. Very few Presidents' memoirs will cause one to laugh out loud, but Mr. Roosevelt's own hysterical descriptions of the antics of his zany brood are almost unbelievable. Ponies in the White House? Check. Presidential children on the roof? Check. Japanese wrestlers? Check. Every letter is remarkable, and it is fun to read the subtle differences between accounts to the children vs those of the same events to other adults. The President's lofty late-Victorian verbage adds to the charm. Also amazing are the lovely photographs reproduced from the family's originals.

[Susan Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows the private Theodore Roosevelt, just as colorful and amazing as the public one and immensely touching. He himself said that his most important job was being a father, and he carried out that responsibility to the hilt even while he was president. With a young family moving into the White House, it's delightful to get to know the family who was leaving there a hundred years ago. I don't see how anyone could read this book without coming to feel affection for TR and all his clan.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theodore Roosevelt was a fascinating man with many interests and a large family. He loved his children and was not afraid to show it. This collection of letters to the children is a glimpse of a man who, in many ways, embraced the childhood experience even as an adult. He wanted his sons and daughters to be all they could be--and perhaps just a little more. He shared life with with them and hoped they would live their lives to the fullest.
Bully was one of TR's favorite words for expressing something wonderful. And this book is pretty bully.

[Ross Cohen]

TR's prolificacy - in writing, adventures, and offspring - has been well documented. What's so encouraging about "A Bully Father" is how TR's output never distracted him from what mattered most: his family. The letters contained herein betray an attentive father, who, in his way, stayed a child. A lovely book, "A bully Father," is a humanizing angle on a legend of a man and a wake-up call to any father who believes he is too busy to make that baseball game.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poignant letters and touching drawings and artwork TR wrote to his children gives one more about the inside personality of the man than most books Ive read about him…Delightful stories of a bygone time in which letter writing was the primary means of communication when people who were long distances from each other..TR's letters are playful, encouraging and humorous as they instruct, advise and guide his children from early childhood through adolescence..

[Lenora Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my favorite books. To know about a President who was also a very devoted father and husband. The letters he writes to his children shows a real human side to this man. I totally recommend this book.

[Jovon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. I liked reading all of the letters he wrote to his kids. They were interesting. One interesting thing that I learned was that he used to be a boxer and he went to Africa to classify the insects.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great insight into the personal life and intimate principles of such an influential man.

Reading what becomes of his children is equal parts exciting and harrowing for this still young parent.

[Art King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teddy shines through as a true inspiration to all fathers. I read this book, and then "played bear" with my children.

[Janet Gooder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not really know much at all about Theodore Roosevelt and his family, so I enjoyed reading and learning about him through his letters to his children. He clearly loved his children and encouraged them as a natural extension of himself. He was somewhat childlike and seemed to have genuinely enjoyed some of the "play" activities people typically abandon when they become adults.
I did found it rather sad, however, to read the end notes on the lives of his children as I had hoped they would have all lived long and happy lives.