- Title: Franklin & Eleanor
- Author: Cheryl Harness
- Age Range: 8 and up
- Grade Level: 2 and up
- Hardcover: 48 pages
- Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
- Published: (December 16, 2004)
- Language: English
This dual biography on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt contains a Roosevelt family tree, a chronology of events, a bibliography, and engaging illustrations that help the audience identify more with Franklin and Eleanor. I chose this book specifically because I knew nothing about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and I wanted to see how much I could learn from a youth nonfiction. Surprisingly, I learned a lot and had fun doing it! Not only did I get an insight into this prominent American couple, but this story placed Franklin and Eleanor within the context of their time period.
Characters:
Franklin D. Roosevelt- born to wealthy parents, went to Harvard, became Governor of New York and then President of the United States.
Eleanor Roosevelt-born to wealthy parents who died early, was raised by her grandmother, educated in London, became First Lady of the United States.
My Review
Roosevelt's presidency saw the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of WWII. The book looks at how Roosevelt's personal fight against Polio and Eleanor being orphaned at a young age helped make them the strong people that altered not only U.S. History, but the world. They fought for better lives for all people and Eleanor Roosevelt helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the UN. One thing that I never realized before was that Franklin and Eleanor were distant cousins. I think the author could have mentioned that this was a common practice for the time period so that youth aren't overly concerned about distant cousins being married.
Overall, the story moved nicely and youth would not have any problems reading it. The story was told through a third person narrator who managed to make Franklin and Eleanor personable through the generations.
I like your post. You included great bibliographical information to start it off and the reading level and age appropriateness of the book. The only thing about it which I would change is that I would put your review before the amazon review. This is your book blog. I like that you include an additional review from another source, but I'd rather read your post first. That's why I, as a reader, am reading your page.
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