DK Biography: Eleanor Roosevelt: A Photographic Story of a Life

DK Biography

by Kem Knapp Sawyer

DK's Biography series for young readers features one of the best-known and most inspiring women of the 20th century — Eleanor Roosevelt. A biography of the First Lady who, despite her shyness, followed her conscience and devoted her life to helping others and working for peace. Supports the Common Core State Standards.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Politics, Womens, History

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know why DK discontinued their biography series, but as far as I know they did, after a pretty short run. This title was superb and I suspect others in the series were as well. Maybe they will bring it back with Common Core? One can hope.

I've read other biographies of Eleanor Roosevelt but for a short juvenile book, this covered her life incredibly well! I wondered if it would cover the affair of Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer. Not only did it mention the original affair, it informed readers that she was present when he died AND when Eleanor got down there to her husband! That seems just plain cruel to let Mrs. Roosevelt know his interest in his mistress continued all these years! As usual, the remarkable woman overcame that blow and went on to continue her life of service to Americans and the world.

The photos, unsurprisingly, were superb and show that actually Eleanor was a very attractive lady. Normally one only sees photos when she was elderly which does her a real disservice. In addition, the text was also well written with excellent side articles explaining events that touched on Eleanor's life.

If I were handing a kid a biography of Eleanor, I would start with this book, then of course move on to Freedman's biography of her. Highly recommended for adults, not only kids.

[Cathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little biography, meant for children but also very interesting to me. I learned a lot about Mrs. Roosevelt and the many struggles she faced in life, from her painful early childhood through her awkward young adult years and into her marriage, which certainly wasn't the best. She's an example of one who endured hardships (everything from her husband's infidelity to his challenge with polio) and didn't give up when life got hard. Whether you agree with her politics or not, she is a woman you've got to admire.

This book has many wonderful photos and also some great little sidebar explanations of historical events and words that children might not be familiar with. The writing is clear and concise, but not a bit dull. And now, after reading this simple little DK book, I hope to read Blanche Cook's wonderful two-volume biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. One of these days...

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned many things of Eleanor's childhood and family. Very tough to lose both parents and live with different family members but mostly her Grandmother.

[Talissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows Eleanor Roosevelt's life from childhood into old age, describing what she did with her years as well as what she felt about certain events. I enjoyed it, and Mrs. Roosevelt is now one of my favorite people from history. She had a mind of her own, and transformed the world with words, ideas and actions. The story was so good, I stayed up hours after the sun had gone down reading it. Not only about the person herself, it also explained what the world was like at the time and how she changed it.

[Gabrielle Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleanor Roosevelt was a fantastic book. The book says since it’s a picture book it’s for small children, but I really liked it. Eleanor is an amazing woman. She went through so many trials as a young child and even as an adult. I hope to learn from her how to be a strong and independent woman. The pictures in this book where super cool the way they depicted how kind she was. Eleanor loved children. I think what she did with and for children was cool. She was so kind to everyone she met. Every single person that talks about her has nothing but kind things to say about her.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with 9yo during our 1930s study. A meaty biography, much more so than the Who Was series. I'm now a big fan of the DK biographies. It was heart-wrenching in parts (for me, mostly), since her life had many heartaches. But her spirit came through and you got a good sense of how she grew and changed as a person, which is inspiring to read (for 9yo and myself). She was an admirable force in American history and that really comes through.

[Readersaurus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great addition to any upper elementary or middle school library. Full of photgraphs. Sawyer clearly places Roosevelt in her historical setting. Any kid reading this book will understand how important Roosevelt's work was to our country and will also know why so many of us still admire her. Touches on just enough of her personal tragedies to keep young teens reading.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a woman to aspire to be. I wish I had her energy. Plus, she accomplished the most in her life in her later years.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an amazing woman!

[Belle Meade School]

917.092

[Yeats Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stopped reading because I was bored.

[Aideeeee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parecía que estaba leyendo un artículo en Wikipedia.

Y aunque sé que esta serie de libros va dirigida al público juvenil, me pareció una redacción muy cursi, a ratos ridícula y también lame botas. Que patada con las frases que eligen los editores para caer bien a los jóvenes...

Contra todo, me sirvió para interesarme (de más) en la vida de Eleanor Roosvelt así que ok.

[Bap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent DK biography from Kem Sawyer.

[Dana Carmichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the book reads like a family scrapbook being shared. I was disappointed that a book for children focused a bit of attention on Mr. Roosevelt's affair.

[Shannon Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written biography about Eleanor Roosevelt who helped a lot of people have better lives. Would be very easy for students to read and understand.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Eleanor Roosevelt is awesome!