Eleanor
- Book Review,
by Barbara Cooney
Amazon.com
Award-winning author Cooney presents a well-researched and poignant storybook biography of Eleanor Roosevelt's childhood. The wartime First Lady of the New Deal, who became one of the most beloved Americans for her empathy with the downtrodden, was famously unglamorous and plain in looks, even as a child. Her beautiful and awful mother humiliated the little girl, calling her Granny, "because she is so funny and old-fashioned looking." Orphaned at nine the girl eventually found her way to confidence, helped initially by a boarding-school headmistress. The book mentions only briefly Roosevelt's later achievements, so a parent will have to supply a little context for this tale of an ugly duckling who turns into, not a swan, but a fulfilled and happy duck.
From Publishers Weekly
The privileged though painful childhood of First Lady and humanitarian Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) is chronicled with tenderness and care in Caldecott Medalist Cooney's (Emily; The Ox-Cart Man) memorable picture book biography. Skillfully compressing a bounty of detail, the author/artist focuses on Eleanor's emotional life as a childhood "ugly duckling": "From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother," Cooney begins. The tale ends with Eleanor's years at Allenswood, the English boarding school whose gifted headmistress helped transform Eleanor into a confident young woman. Cooney wisely refrains from specifically naming the Roosevelt family, allowing children to experience the text as an entertaining story as well as a piece of history. Creamy, reverently rendered paintings portray fashionable Manhattan, Hudson River Valley and Long Island settings; Cooney's intricate reproductions of houses and her recreations of period clothing and interiors are pleasures to behold as well as visual history lessons. An afterword sheds light on Eleanor Roosevelt's career (but would have benefited from the inclusion of her birth, marriage and death dates); most readers will probably want to explore more fully the groundbreaking achievements outlined here. Ages 5-up. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3?Cooney once again brings her unique vision to biography. Beginning the story with Eleanor's Roosevelt's mother's disappointment at her birth, the author emphasizes the girl's lonely and often fearful childhood. By the time she was nine, both of her parents were dead, and she lived with her grandmother. At 15, Eleanor was sent to boarding school in London; when she returned home three years later, she had gained a confident understanding of her own unique strengths. The book ends with Eleanor's public role still to come. A brief afterword provides information about her worldwide influence in her later life. For young readers, however, the important story is of Eleanor's childhood and the many problems she overcame. Cooney's paintings are well suited to her subject and convey a sense of the past through muted colors and careful details. By showing the young Eleanor at the fringes of the pictures on many pages, the artist emphasizes her subject's isolation and loneliness. Toward the end of the story, however, Eleanor is squarely in the center of the page. Cooney thus accentuates Eleanor's coming out, her character now fully formed in all its quiet dignity.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Leslie Bennetts
... any child will find it easy to relate to this classic account of an ugly duckling.
From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. There are many biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt, but this one is special. Not only does it boast Cooney's artwork, but it also gets to the heart of a young girl, which in many ways is as interesting as Roosevelt's later, well-known accomplishments. "From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother." So begins Eleanor's story, in which the child with the beautiful mother quickly realizes that she is not pretty and feels less worthy because of it. Despite the love of her father and the affection of her family, young Eleanor continues to feel alone, and, after her father's death, even more desolate. Children will respond viscerally to the longing for affection, to the fear and insecurity that accompanies loss, and they will be uplifted by Eleanor's eventual realization of her own special talents, especially her capacity for compassion. Cooney also re-creates an era of mansions and balls that, despite the grandeur, mean little without love. Cooney is at her artistic best here, with full-page pictures, winding spreads, and half-page scenes that use intriguing perspectives and superb detail to excellent advantage, all the while keeping Eleanor, usually alone or set apart, as the pictures' focus. Cooney also ably sets Eleanor's story as fairy tale, one that as far as this book goes, has a happy ending. Ilene Cooper
From Kirkus Reviews
``From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother,'' Cooney (The Story of Christmas, 1995, etc.) begins in this biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. She is a plain child, timid and serious; it is clear that only a few people loved her. After her parents die, she is cared for in the luxurious homes of wealthy relatives, but does not find acceptance until she arrives in a British boarding school, where she thrives on the attention of the headmistress, who guides, teaches, and inspires her. Cooney does not gloss over the girl's misery and disappointments; she also shows the rare happy times and sows the seeds of Eleanor's future work. The illustrations of house interiors often depict Eleanor as an isolated, lonely figure, her indistinct face and hollow eyes watching from a distance the human interactions she does not yet enjoy. Paintings reveal the action of a steamship collision; the hectic activity of a park full of children and their governesses; a night full of stars portending the girl's luminous future. The image of plain Eleanor being fitted with her first beautiful dress is an indelible one. Readers will be moved by the unfairness of her early life and rejoice when she finds her place in the world. An author's note supplies other relevant information. (Picture book/biography. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Though she came from a wealthy and privileged family, Eleanor Roosevelt grew up in a cheerless household that left her lonely and shy. Years passed before Eleanor began to discover in herself the qualities of intelligence, compassion, and strength that made her a remarkable woman. In Eleanor, two-time Caldecott Medal winner Barbara Cooney paints a meticulously researched, lushly detailed picture of Eleanor's childhood world--but most importantly, she captures the essence of the little girl whose indomitable spirit would make her one of the greatest and most beloved first ladies of all time.
"There are many biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt, but this one is special...Cooney is at her artistic best." --Booklist
* Ages 5 up
* An ALA Notable Book
* An NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
* A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
* A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
* An IRA-CBC Children's Choice Book
Card catalog description
Presents the childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt, who married a president of the United States and became known as a great humanitarian.
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