Wonder Teller
Cover of Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors
BiographyPicture bookLevel 5Ages 6–8

Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors

English · 25 pages · 1,594 words · 13 min read

A story-led factual biography for ages 6–8 that opens with Roosevelt’s decision to protect Pelican Island, then follows his childhood curiosity and ranch years into a presidency of Square Deal choices—settling a coal strike, breaking up a railroad trust, and signing food-safety laws—and of protected forests and monuments, alongside the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and Ahwahneechee homelands in his story and the Brownsville soldiers he wronged.

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Written by
Wonder Teller
Illustrated by
Wonder Teller illustration studio

A look inside

The opening of Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors, free to read.

  1. Illustration from page 2 of Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors

    Hunters were taking birds’ feathers to decorate fancy hats. On Florida’s Pelican Island, nesting birds were disappearing. Two bird experts brought the danger to President Theodore Roosevelt and appealed to him for help. What could a president do?

  2. Illustration from page 3 of Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors

    In 1903, Theodore signed an order to protect Pelican Island. An order is a written instruction from the president. Hunters could no longer take the nesting birds there. This was the first land the United States set aside just for wild animals. One small island was only the beginning.

  3. Illustration from page 4 of Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Outdoors

    Years earlier, Theodore was a boy in a wealthy New York family. His family called him Teedie. He often had asthma, an illness that made breathing hard. His father took him on carriage rides for fresh air, and teachers came to their home. Theodore read about animals and faraway places. Even when he was ill, he kept looking closely at the world around him.

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