Genre 4: Our Eleanor

Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life



Fleming, Candace. 2005. Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life. New York: Atheneum Books For Young Readers. ISBN 978-0-689-86544-2.



Plot Summary
Our Eleanor chronicles the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mrs. Roosevelt fought social injustices in the world with a tough exterior while hiding her insecurities and loneliness. A child born to privilege, who was emotionally abused by her mother and neglected by her alcoholic father, Mrs. Roosevelt defied decorum and lived a life of purpose. When her husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was stricken with polio, she traveled the world, becoming his eyes and ears. As such, she shaped our world in ways few others have been able to emulate. As interesting and influential as Mrs. Roosevelt was perceived by many, she was not liked or admired by all. While some of our more recent first ladies have tried to emulate her ways, it is interesting to note the negative reaction a few of immediate successors seemed to have of her. Our Eleanor, written as a scrapbook, presents a collection of illustrated photographs and stories representing the life and career of Eleanor Roosevelt.


Critical Analysis
In Our Eleanor, Candace Fleming gives readers an up close and personal look at the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who, many would argue, was one of the greatest women in our history. Our Eleanor is presented in a loose chronological manner, divided into chapters arranged both chronologically and thematically. By arranging the book in this manner, Fleming allows readers to focus more on the story of her life rather than dealing with date after date, which tends to become monotonous after a time.

Fleming's use of photographs allows readers to see Eleanor in action, from deep inside an Ohio coal mine to a Puerto Rican slum to Guadalcanal to Christmas with her family and playing with her grandchildren. In a successful attempt to break up the text, Fleming used a variety of fonts, separation lines, and hand-written letters. Readers are even treated to Eleanor's report card from school. By arranging the book in this manner, Candace Fleming was able to create a non-fiction book that reads as a story.

With source notes and related readings listed at the end of the book, Fleming gives readers ample opportunity to learn more about Eleanor Roosevelt.


Review Excerpts
Horn Book starred review: "This richly rendered account of the life and accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt is both unabashed tribute and absorbing history."

School Library Journal: "This presentation does for the longest-serving First Lady what Russell Freedman's Lincoln: A Photobiography (Clarion, 1987) did for an earlier inhabitant of the White House."

Kirkus Review: "Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook-an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook-this is how it might feel to look through it."


Connections
This book would be beneficial for lessons pertaining to women in politics, American history, civil rights, human rights, or people who have made a difference in the world.


Related Books
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
My Day: The Best of Eleanor Roosevelt's Acclaimed Newspaper Columns, 1936-1962 by Eleanor Roosevelt
Ben Franklin's Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman's Life by Candace Fleming

Cover art from www.librarything.com