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 0689865449

Fleming created a wonderful biography of First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.  Through extensive research using resources from the Franklin D.  Roosevelt Library to accounts from friends and family, Fleming has drawn the reader into Eleanor's personal life.  On the outside, Eleanor is an accomplished woman but Fleming's depiction, gives a humanizing quality of  the First Lady.  The book is a compiled record of a woman who was extremely driven and focused on the civil rights of woman, children and minorities.  The reader can sympathize with Eleanor because she seems like everyone else.  The author uses various quotations from Eleanor and other individuals, to personalize the story.  It is, as if, the reader is looking through a diary of Eleanor's life. Using photographs, newspaper clips, columns, and personal letter written by Eleanor, Fleming made the book cohesive because it intertwines with the text.  The overall layout of the book, is in a chronological order, using dates and years to show the progression of Eleanor's age.  Quite a page turner, the author gives pieces of information using headings to persuade the reader to continue to the next page.  The source notes in the back pages, gives the reader, further resource information about how the book was created. The added bonus is the genealogical chart of Roosevelt family lineage located in front and the timeline that shows important years. 

Excerpts

2006. "Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life." School Library Journal 52(3): 90.

"Using a scrapbook approach, Fleming surrounds her brief narrative with arrays of diary entries, contemporary new clippings, cartoons, letters, period photographs, and other documentary evidence- all of which combine brilliantly to bring out the rich, complex character of the First among all First Ladies."

2006. "Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life." Library Media Connection 24(5): 73-74.

"This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs.  Eleanor’s vital role in American history is chronicled in this biography that captures her vulnerability and her humanity."

Bush, Margaret A. 2005. "Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life." Horn Book Magazine 81(6): 734.

"This richly rendered account of the life and accomplishments of Eleanor

Roosevelt is both unabashed tribute and absorbing history."

Medlar, Andrew. 2005. "Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life." School Library Journal 51(11): 158-159.

"The title suggests an intimacy between reader and subject, which is strengthened by a design suggesting a family album."

Awards

ALA Notable Book

Notable Children's Book

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Medal Winner

Connections

other Candace Fleming books

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia ISBN 0375867821

Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart ISBN 0375841989

The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary ISBN 0375836187

Activities for Children

Children can be asked to write a book report on Eleanor.

Children can be asked to write about one page of the book.

Personal Response

The book was marvelously written and I wanted to continue turning the page.  The photographs helped me to coordinate the story with the events.   Eleanor Roosevelt was so accomplished because she fought for  civil rights.  One has to wonder, if she, was the reason there are laws against the discrimination of minorities.  It is apparently clear why so many individuals were drawn to her.  She was sophisticated, yet, she wasn't afraid to go beyond the norm.  She was an ordinary person who did extraordinary things through her own political views.  I would recommend the book to everyone.  It is a true depiction of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt.