Brenna Call's Reviews > Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life

Our Eleanor by Candace Fleming

Antheneum Books For Young Readers - New York - 2005 - 156 pages

This nonfiction books gave a fascinating account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s life from her birth through her death. I didn’t know that much about Mrs. Roosevelt before I read the book but she is now one of my personal heroes. She came from a priviledged background but all during her adult life she stived to connect with the common man and to create a world that was just and equal for all people. She also did a great deal for her husband while he was president that he could not do because of his polio. I’m not sure that FDR would have been the president he was without his strong and courageous wife. I did like that the book showed Eleanor from every side and didn’t sugar coat her negative features. She was not the world’s best mother and she struggled to raise her children. Early on she held on to some of the prejudices of the class from which she came. She was often depressed and moody. The book even alludes to speculation regarding her sexual preferences. All in all I think this book was a very interesting read and I would recommend it to others who like history and biographies. It may be difficult to entice teens to read a book like this if they were not already interested in the topic. Girls would probably like the book better because the subject of the book is female.

4Q - 2P - S

The cover is a younger picture of Eleanor Roosevelt. She looks happy and appealing in the picture.

Too Good to be True (Nonfiction)