Book Review - OUR ELEANOR - TWU LS 5603 assignment

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fleming, Candace.  2005.  OUR ELEANOR: A SCRAPBOOK LOOK AT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT’S REMARKABLE LIFE.  New York:  AtheneumBooks for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689865442.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Fleming regales’ hers readers with “gold standards” (Vardell 2008, 246) of Eleanor’s own words: about women’s political goals, “we want to gain for ourselves a place of real equality, and the respect of men….This means with the men, not for them” (Fleming 2005, 50); about teaching, “I teach because I love it…[she emphasized] the connection between things of the past and things of today” (58); about libraries, “We have got to make our libraries the center of a new life in the mind,…so we must insist on libraries for every community,…[the] stimulation of intellectual thought, individual curiosity and the chance to make a democracy…” (102); about her life, “These crowded hours have been interesting and stimulating.  They have, I hope, been useful.  They have, at least, been lived to the hilt” (156). Every single quote is substantiated in the Source Notes.

Fleming packs this book with stimulating tidbits of Eleanor’s life that beg to be read about further.  She gives us a timeline of Eleanor’s life, an abridged family tree, seven chapters that are loosely chronological, a list of more books-videos-and websites about Eleanor, picture credits, source notes, and an index; all this additional information validates the authenticity of the research.

The photos of people, places, events, and historical documents take us back to an era of by-gone days.  There are approximately 200 of them and their source of verification is on the Picture Credits page.  They range from personal photos and correspondence to cartoons to presidential papers.

The tributes given at Eleanor’s death speak of a person loved dearly by many around the world: “flags… flew at half-mast, the first time such an honor had been accorded a woman”; “the United Nations…delegates…stood for a one-minute silent tribute” (154); “I told her she was the first lady of the world” said Harry S. Truman (155); wrote Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, “No woman…have so well understood and articulated the yearnings of men and women for social justice” (154); “Eleanor Roosevelt was like a mother to the world and we are like orphans because of her death” from a fifth grader (154).

AWARDS

ALA Amelia Bloomer Project
ALA Best Books For Young Adults
ALA Notable Children's Books
CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
CCBC Choices (Cooperative Children's Book Council)
IRA Teachers' Choices
Jefferson Cup Honor Book
KSRC Senior High School Titles - Top Pick
NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
Pennsylvania School Librarian Association (PSLA) "Top Ten (Or So)" Young Adult Books
Publishers Weekly Best Books
SLJ Best Book of the Year

REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: ‘Using a scrapbook approach, Fleming surrounds her brief narrative with arrays of diary entries, contemporary news 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…. While the arrangement is chronological from Roosevelt's parents' marriage to her own death, the narrative is not linear per se. Rather, each of the seven chapters leads readers through the subject's busy life with short sections of text… Much of the story is told within the meaty sidebars covering supporting perspectives, enlightening details, and amusing anecdotes”

LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION: “This scrapbook biography employs oral history transcripts, books, and photographs…. captures her vulnerability and her humanity…. Some chapters focus on specific time periods, while others focus on themes in her life…. one gains renewed respect for this woman who did so much for so many”

BOOK LINKS: “this intimate, unvarnished, and ultimately deeply moving portrait takes a pastiche approach to humanizing a legendary life…. invites readers into a camaraderie with the timid, neglected little girl who grew up to become the woman many nicknamed "copresident," ….however, a structural choice that seems to encourage assumptions rather than heading them off”

HORN BOOK MAGAZINE: “unabashed tribute and absorbing history…. copious primary

and secondary sources…. Fleming is adroit in conveying the complexity and imperfections as well as the remarkable capabilities…. Fleming begins with a personal note, timeline, and family tree and concludes with a bibliography of children’s biographies and other sources”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Fleming relies on the prolific words of Eleanor herself, family members, friends and observers to enhance this multi-faceted life story”

KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Had Eleanor Roosevelt kept a scrapbook--an incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook--this is how it might feel to look through it… The source notes are thorough and the bibliography recommends several books for young readers, as well as videos and Web sites. Photographs, family trees, sketches and even a report card add visual appeal.”

CONNECTIONS

Other books to read
Fleming, Candace.  BEN FRANKLIN’S ALMANAC: BEING A TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE GOOD GENTLEMAN’S LIFE.  ISBN
Freedman, Russell.  ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: A LIFE OF DISCOVERY.  ISBN 
Freedman, Russell.  LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY.  ISBN 
Ryan, Pam Munoz.  AMELIA AND ELEANOR GO FOR A RIDE.  ISBN

Fleming lists six books, four videos, and six websites about Eleanor for additional information.

Lessons/Activities 

Fleming has several lessons on her website http://www.candacefleming.com/pdf/CGEleanor.pdf:
1) Make a timeline of Mrs. Roosevelt’s life. Add some of the following items to the timeline based on the age level of your students: your grandparents’ births, wedding date, parents’ births, wedding date, you and your sibling’s birth dates, other important dates in your life, important dates for your community or school, predict some things you think might happen in the future that would be important.

2) Jigsaw puzzle – draw squiggly lines on cardstock to look like 10 puzzle pieces; in each section write one thing that was important to Mrs. Roosevelt (things she did, people she knew, how she felt about something); write a title on the back side; cut up the puzzle.  Now do the same thing for your own life; notice how your interests or likes or friends do not have to relate to each other.

3) Poetry – write an “I AM” poem using metaphor and simile to describe yourself based on these things:  a color, a food, a season, a feeling, an animal, something you find in nature or outside, an object; end with the words “I am me”

More lesson ideas can be found at http://eduscapes.com/newbery/94d.html:

1) Write letters – go to ‘Dear Mrs. Roosevelt’ at http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/index.htm; read some of the letters written; compose a letter to Mrs. Roosevelt about something you want to know.

2) Compare and contrast – Mrs. Roosevelt was a very popular first lady.  Choose another first lady and compare/contrast the two of them and their roles.