Synopsis
Eleanor Roosevelt was one of America's best-known and most-beloved first ladies. Born into a privileged home in 1884, Eleanor had an uncommon empathy for ordinary and disadvantaged people. She worked tirelessly throughout her lifetime to help people find relief from discrimination, poverty, and oppression. Eleanor not only worked to rally Americans during America's Great Depression and World War II, she also spoke out on behalf of civil rights and sought to expand roles for women. Eleanor never thought of herself as special, but in her lifetime she proved that an ordinary woman could do extraordinary things. This warm portrait provides new insight into a woman who remains an inspiring role model.
Children's Literature
Eleanor Roosevelt's mother was a beauty "extravagantly beautiful," writes Mary Winget. She was disappointed that Eleanor was a girl and not even a pretty one. That's how Theodore Roosevelt's niece began life in 1887, growing up in a world of "wealth, glamour, and frivolity." But her mother died when Eleanor was 8, her alcoholic father died when she was 9 and she was raised in the home of her grandmother. She always agonized through social occasions but developed an early sympathy for the plight of those less fortunate. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a 5th cousin, first asked her to dance when she was 14, and they married five years later. She became a reluctant first lady and never acknowledged her own popularity, forever underestimating her own knowledge and abilities. This biography is a bit heavy with unbroken text, but it reads easily and presents a sympathetic and thorough picture of one of our most famous first ladies, a woman who consistently overcame challenges and obstacles. Part of the A&E/Lerner "Biography" series 2001, Lerner Publications. Ages 10 to 16. Reviewer: Karen Leggett