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Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Historic American President's Life for Children
Traces the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt from his birth in 1882 through his youth, early political career, and presidency to his death in Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1945.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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82 people want to read
About the author
Russell Freedman
90 books133 followersRussell A. Freedman was an American biographer and the author of nearly 50 books for young people. He may be known best for winning the 1988 Newbery Medal with his work Lincoln: A Photobiography.
He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. His nonfiction books ranged in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.
Freedman traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.
He grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, and then worked as a reporter and editor for the Associated Press and as a publicity writer. His nonfiction books ranged in subject from the lives and behaviors of animals to people in history. Freeedman's work has earned him several awards, including a Newbery Honor each for Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery in 1994 and The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane in 1992, and a Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.
Freedman traveled extensively throughout the world to gather information and inspiration for his books. His book, Confucius: The Golden Rule was inspired by his extensive travels through Mainland China, where he visited Confucius' hometown in modern day QuFu, in the Shantung Province.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 26, 2023
What a superb biography of FDR! It is meant for children, so while controversial facts are referred to, they are not emphasized. The fact that Eleanor and FDR nearly divorced is mentioned. However, also mentioned is that they formed a firm partnership. There is one photo that is rather dated in terms of being quite non PC (FDR in blackface) but otherwise this holds up to the public extremely well. Excellent photo biography in the back matter , especially in addition to the numerous photos in the text itself. The book ends a bit abruptly. Highly recommended!
January 20, 2026
There are lots of books about Franklin Delano Roosevelt, indeed about the Roosevelt family. This one is put out by Scholastic and is very thorough, although not very long.
FDR grew up rich. He went to special schools and had many privileges. When he started courting Eleanor, she introduced him to the world of the poor. They married and had five children.
He loved politics. In a break from the rest of the family, he became a Democrat and held several both elected and appointed offices.
One day he was out sailing with his boys, swam across a freshwater lagoon on the way home. That night he felt ill. Polio, infantile paralysis, left him paralyzed from the waist down. With Eleanor's support, he stayed in politics and ultimately was elected president.
It was the Depression. Most rich people weren't concerned with the plight of the poor. FDR was and he tried to help them through government programs thus changing the relationship between people and government. Many people opposed his programs. Many more loved them.
With the rise of Hitler, FDR eased the U.S. onto the world stage. Pearl Harbor hurled the U.S. into WWII. His friendship with Winston Churchill and his advisors helped him guide the nation through the war.
One of the challenges to FDR was his being elected president four times. An amendment passed after that to limit this to two terms. He was the first to use the radio, fly in an airplane, actively campaign for office among other things. His programs are still controversial. Many, like social security are still loved and depended on by people.
This book is easy reading, filled with photographs and an excellent introduction to FDR.
FDR grew up rich. He went to special schools and had many privileges. When he started courting Eleanor, she introduced him to the world of the poor. They married and had five children.
He loved politics. In a break from the rest of the family, he became a Democrat and held several both elected and appointed offices.
One day he was out sailing with his boys, swam across a freshwater lagoon on the way home. That night he felt ill. Polio, infantile paralysis, left him paralyzed from the waist down. With Eleanor's support, he stayed in politics and ultimately was elected president.
It was the Depression. Most rich people weren't concerned with the plight of the poor. FDR was and he tried to help them through government programs thus changing the relationship between people and government. Many people opposed his programs. Many more loved them.
With the rise of Hitler, FDR eased the U.S. onto the world stage. Pearl Harbor hurled the U.S. into WWII. His friendship with Winston Churchill and his advisors helped him guide the nation through the war.
One of the challenges to FDR was his being elected president four times. An amendment passed after that to limit this to two terms. He was the first to use the radio, fly in an airplane, actively campaign for office among other things. His programs are still controversial. Many, like social security are still loved and depended on by people.
This book is easy reading, filled with photographs and an excellent introduction to FDR.
April 11, 2012
Russell Freedman authored a biography of Abraham Lincoln that I hold in very high regard, so it was with high anticipation that I ordered this book so many years ago. I was disappointed.
By rights, the book should be like all sequels should be. The events are bigger, the conflict more epic, the events more recent, and the photos more numerous. However, like so many sequels tend to do, this book quickly became overburdened, clunky and jarring. The book is simply not as well written as in Lincoln: A Photobiography. While the early years of FDR's life are well covered, the book begins to decline once the Great Depression begins and later takes a nosedive after the outbreak of World War Two. After the stock market crash, there are simply too many events happening at once for the book to stay coherent. The events become more scattered, the transitions more jarring, and near the end the author starts to resort to what are essentially bullet lists (without the bullets). We don't even learn anything about the numerous Roosevelt children except though asides, and the point of view often shifts entirely towards other people (especially Eleanor). Too much knowledge, not enough heart.
Setting that aside, I learned two things about Roosevelt from this book. The first is that the story of FDR is essentially the story of two people: before- and after polio. Before polio, FDR was the consumate member of the privileged class and successful politician. The early part of the book becomes boring with story after story of how FDR grew up in a bubble of the rich, attending the best schools, rising to the top in everything, almost never failing (his only major disappointment was to not get invited to the most elite of Harvard's fraternities) and learning to evade his overbearing mother. However, it is after FDR is afflicted by polio, and while his is learning to adjust to an impending lifetime of paralysis, that he changes into a different person. With "nothing to do but lie in bed but think," he begins to think seriously about the troubles of others. While he had made gestures and speeches, it is only after polio that he starts to sympathize and actively fight for the less fortunate. "'Having been to the depths of trouble, he understood the needs of those in trouble.'" and "A man who could not stand up by himself knew that self-reliance can carry you only so far" stand out as the epitome of this attitude. It transformed him from agreeing with Hoover's hands-off policy during the early days of the Depression to pushing through a revolutionary increase in government through the New Deal and nudging America towards war by supplying increasing amount of aid to Britain and Russia.
The other thing I learned was that even after his disability, Roosevelt remained the consumate wheeler-and-dealer, manipulative and knowledgeable. He would manipulate others into arguing his points for him, put everyone at ease by telling a story (he told reporters that he understood them because he had worked his way up to becoming the editor of the Harvard student newspaper). Roosevelt could switch between 3-4 different personalities, so that no one, not his cabinet, not even his wife, knew what he was really thinking. He would separately assign 3-4 people to work on a project, then pick the best solution. By a lifelong habit of becoming deeply involved in whatever he did, he could speak equally well with bird experts (long history of budding naturalist), admirals (former assistant secretary of the navy), and doctors (having obsessively devoured all material concerning polio. While listening to the other side, he would nod as though he were agreeing, though in reality he was only showing that he was following the conversation. In this way, even his worst enemies found it hard to dislike him, even if they considered him a liar, traitor, communist, and fascist. Sometimes, if he didn't know what to say, he would just keep talking and talking, monopolizing the time and keeping his guest from speaking until time was up!
One thing I found to be especially relevant today was the perception of governmental actions during the Depression, compared to present day events following the recession. Hoover injected money into banks and businesses, hoping that the benefits would "trickle down", while Bush pushed forward TARP to stabilize the financial system. FDR's New Deal and Obama's stimulus plan/health care reform were both denounced as traitorous and socialistic, as the first step towards the destruction of America through the destruction of traditional values of thrift and self-help. Both programs were ridiculed as reckless expansions of government, both were paid for by large tax increases, and both were very popular with those who were helped. On the contrary side, both FDR and Obama were pilloried by the political left for not going far enough, while both told reporters (with whom both had a congenial relationship) that they were merely piloting a middle course. In response to the programs, both were challenged in the Supreme Court. In FDR's case, SCOTUS initially struck down cornerstones of the policy but reversed itself after Roosevelt tried to pack the court with his own justices. Interestingly, for the tax increases, Roosevelt was denounced by the rich as a "traitor to his [financial] class", who referred to him only as "that man in the White House."
One nitpick that I have with the book are the pictures. Specifically, it's all pictures. Sure, there's a wide variety of shots from various events and people, but I would have liked to see pictures of objects and things, such as relevant flyers or posters or campaign buttons.
By rights, the book should be like all sequels should be. The events are bigger, the conflict more epic, the events more recent, and the photos more numerous. However, like so many sequels tend to do, this book quickly became overburdened, clunky and jarring. The book is simply not as well written as in Lincoln: A Photobiography. While the early years of FDR's life are well covered, the book begins to decline once the Great Depression begins and later takes a nosedive after the outbreak of World War Two. After the stock market crash, there are simply too many events happening at once for the book to stay coherent. The events become more scattered, the transitions more jarring, and near the end the author starts to resort to what are essentially bullet lists (without the bullets). We don't even learn anything about the numerous Roosevelt children except though asides, and the point of view often shifts entirely towards other people (especially Eleanor). Too much knowledge, not enough heart.
Setting that aside, I learned two things about Roosevelt from this book. The first is that the story of FDR is essentially the story of two people: before- and after polio. Before polio, FDR was the consumate member of the privileged class and successful politician. The early part of the book becomes boring with story after story of how FDR grew up in a bubble of the rich, attending the best schools, rising to the top in everything, almost never failing (his only major disappointment was to not get invited to the most elite of Harvard's fraternities) and learning to evade his overbearing mother. However, it is after FDR is afflicted by polio, and while his is learning to adjust to an impending lifetime of paralysis, that he changes into a different person. With "nothing to do but lie in bed but think," he begins to think seriously about the troubles of others. While he had made gestures and speeches, it is only after polio that he starts to sympathize and actively fight for the less fortunate. "'Having been to the depths of trouble, he understood the needs of those in trouble.'" and "A man who could not stand up by himself knew that self-reliance can carry you only so far" stand out as the epitome of this attitude. It transformed him from agreeing with Hoover's hands-off policy during the early days of the Depression to pushing through a revolutionary increase in government through the New Deal and nudging America towards war by supplying increasing amount of aid to Britain and Russia.
The other thing I learned was that even after his disability, Roosevelt remained the consumate wheeler-and-dealer, manipulative and knowledgeable. He would manipulate others into arguing his points for him, put everyone at ease by telling a story (he told reporters that he understood them because he had worked his way up to becoming the editor of the Harvard student newspaper). Roosevelt could switch between 3-4 different personalities, so that no one, not his cabinet, not even his wife, knew what he was really thinking. He would separately assign 3-4 people to work on a project, then pick the best solution. By a lifelong habit of becoming deeply involved in whatever he did, he could speak equally well with bird experts (long history of budding naturalist), admirals (former assistant secretary of the navy), and doctors (having obsessively devoured all material concerning polio. While listening to the other side, he would nod as though he were agreeing, though in reality he was only showing that he was following the conversation. In this way, even his worst enemies found it hard to dislike him, even if they considered him a liar, traitor, communist, and fascist. Sometimes, if he didn't know what to say, he would just keep talking and talking, monopolizing the time and keeping his guest from speaking until time was up!
One thing I found to be especially relevant today was the perception of governmental actions during the Depression, compared to present day events following the recession. Hoover injected money into banks and businesses, hoping that the benefits would "trickle down", while Bush pushed forward TARP to stabilize the financial system. FDR's New Deal and Obama's stimulus plan/health care reform were both denounced as traitorous and socialistic, as the first step towards the destruction of America through the destruction of traditional values of thrift and self-help. Both programs were ridiculed as reckless expansions of government, both were paid for by large tax increases, and both were very popular with those who were helped. On the contrary side, both FDR and Obama were pilloried by the political left for not going far enough, while both told reporters (with whom both had a congenial relationship) that they were merely piloting a middle course. In response to the programs, both were challenged in the Supreme Court. In FDR's case, SCOTUS initially struck down cornerstones of the policy but reversed itself after Roosevelt tried to pack the court with his own justices. Interestingly, for the tax increases, Roosevelt was denounced by the rich as a "traitor to his [financial] class", who referred to him only as "that man in the White House."
One nitpick that I have with the book are the pictures. Specifically, it's all pictures. Sure, there's a wide variety of shots from various events and people, but I would have liked to see pictures of objects and things, such as relevant flyers or posters or campaign buttons.
June 24, 2022
Interesting book about FDR that we read in our homeschool Dialectic history studies. Shortly after my kids got to meet FDR (historical interpreter). My kids were well prepared.
June 9, 2024
33 minutes
an old favorite ❤️
an old favorite ❤️
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April 12, 2012Franklin Delano Roosevelt is a biography about our 32nd president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This books takes the reader through his life and experiences. With the ten informative chapters written by Russell Freedman, the reader will truly get a sense of what Franklin Delano Roosevelt's life was like while president of the United States of America, and while not.
Is this person someone whos life will be of interest to young readers? I would have to say yes. However, for very young children, like Pre K-Grade 3, perhaps not. I would say biographies, in general, are more of a read for older children. Being that this biography is about a president, I think it does give some interest level for some students. The author definitely presents the person in a way that the readers can identify with Franklin Roosevelt. By giving some background on his children and stuff like that, the child can see that the president was once in their shoes. I believe this information is accurate and authentic because in the back of the book there is an acknowledgement page and it cites where the information was recieved. Lastly, I do believe that the author has written in an engaging style that maintains reader's attention. Not only is the text understandable, but there are a lot of pictures that keep the text visually appealing.
I liked the book. Before I read it, I had not known very much about this president. By reading, I have become extremely informed of everything he had went through. I was never very good at history and reading about history, but this information and topic was put in an interesting way for me to comprehend and I found it easy to like. During a history lesson, you could use this in your clasroom. Either by having all the students read the book, or by copying certain chapters out of it, it can be a great book to use as a lesson. If you are having the students read it indivdually, they could write a book report of some sort.
Is this person someone whos life will be of interest to young readers? I would have to say yes. However, for very young children, like Pre K-Grade 3, perhaps not. I would say biographies, in general, are more of a read for older children. Being that this biography is about a president, I think it does give some interest level for some students. The author definitely presents the person in a way that the readers can identify with Franklin Roosevelt. By giving some background on his children and stuff like that, the child can see that the president was once in their shoes. I believe this information is accurate and authentic because in the back of the book there is an acknowledgement page and it cites where the information was recieved. Lastly, I do believe that the author has written in an engaging style that maintains reader's attention. Not only is the text understandable, but there are a lot of pictures that keep the text visually appealing.
I liked the book. Before I read it, I had not known very much about this president. By reading, I have become extremely informed of everything he had went through. I was never very good at history and reading about history, but this information and topic was put in an interesting way for me to comprehend and I found it easy to like. During a history lesson, you could use this in your clasroom. Either by having all the students read the book, or by copying certain chapters out of it, it can be a great book to use as a lesson. If you are having the students read it indivdually, they could write a book report of some sort.
April 24, 2012
SUMMARY: Franklin Delano Roosevelt by Russell Freedman tells the life story of FDR, our thirty-second president. Freedman helps to bring FDR to life through pictures and facts that are written in a way in a way that is both informative and appealing.
CRITIQUE: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an important figure of the 20th century, from being president during the Great Depression to helping Winston Churchill during WWII. The information is also presented in a way that allows the reader to see FDR as a real person, although FDR was one of the most loved presidents of all time. Based on the information, Franklin Delano Roosevelt seems like a genuinely good man, and the reader would have no trouble identifying with him. The information seems to be authentic because it is all information that I have read before or been taught in different classes. The book is written nicely though because it is not as dry as other biographies, and it keeps the reader's attention by placing pictures and other information throughout the pages.
RESPONSE: I found this book very informational and very much enjoyed reading it. FDR did so much for this country during his several terms as president, and children should learn about it whenever they enter school, just as they should learn about all of the presidents. I am not sure if I would use this book in an early childhood classroom, but I would definitely use it in a middle school/high school setting.
CRITIQUE: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an important figure of the 20th century, from being president during the Great Depression to helping Winston Churchill during WWII. The information is also presented in a way that allows the reader to see FDR as a real person, although FDR was one of the most loved presidents of all time. Based on the information, Franklin Delano Roosevelt seems like a genuinely good man, and the reader would have no trouble identifying with him. The information seems to be authentic because it is all information that I have read before or been taught in different classes. The book is written nicely though because it is not as dry as other biographies, and it keeps the reader's attention by placing pictures and other information throughout the pages.
RESPONSE: I found this book very informational and very much enjoyed reading it. FDR did so much for this country during his several terms as president, and children should learn about it whenever they enter school, just as they should learn about all of the presidents. I am not sure if I would use this book in an early childhood classroom, but I would definitely use it in a middle school/high school setting.
April 24, 2012
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a huge figure in the 20th century. This book by Russell Freedman provides a great biography about the life and death of FDR, starting with his childhood, through his rise in political power, and all the way through his four terms in office concluding with his death.
This person is someone whose life is of interest to young readers, because of his unprecedented terms in office, as well as the major points of his presidency. From leading the United States into World War II and leading them out of the Great Depression, FDR had many pivotal moments in his years as president that are interesting for readers. The author has presented him as someone how was authentic and believable. This is helped with all of the photos and personal stories the author includes in the book, which make it both a more enjoyable read as well as more real for readers. The information seems to be accurate and authentic, and the book is written in an engaging style that keeps the readers' attentions throughout the book.
I would place this book in my classroom as part of a unit on FDR or WW2. Also, I could include this as a unit on FDR or a biography unit for my students in an effort to get them to read these types of books more often.
This person is someone whose life is of interest to young readers, because of his unprecedented terms in office, as well as the major points of his presidency. From leading the United States into World War II and leading them out of the Great Depression, FDR had many pivotal moments in his years as president that are interesting for readers. The author has presented him as someone how was authentic and believable. This is helped with all of the photos and personal stories the author includes in the book, which make it both a more enjoyable read as well as more real for readers. The information seems to be accurate and authentic, and the book is written in an engaging style that keeps the readers' attentions throughout the book.
I would place this book in my classroom as part of a unit on FDR or WW2. Also, I could include this as a unit on FDR or a biography unit for my students in an effort to get them to read these types of books more often.
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April 27, 2015Freedman, R. (1990). Franklin Delano Roosevelt. New York: Clarion Books.
Each chapter starts off with a title that gives you the main idea and it has a quote underneath it which is creative. This book has pictures that go along with what’s going on in the chapter and they are from that time in black and white. The book goes through Franklin D Roosevelt’s life form when he was born till his death in 1945. It goes into his political career and to when he was a president. One quote from the book says “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Franklin Roosevelt stated that and I think it shows how much he was trying to make the United States a better place. This would be a good fit for an older classroom if they had to do a project on one of the presidents. It has many of things that have happened in his life and during his presidency. Has many quotes to add in and is a good read.
Each chapter starts off with a title that gives you the main idea and it has a quote underneath it which is creative. This book has pictures that go along with what’s going on in the chapter and they are from that time in black and white. The book goes through Franklin D Roosevelt’s life form when he was born till his death in 1945. It goes into his political career and to when he was a president. One quote from the book says “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Franklin Roosevelt stated that and I think it shows how much he was trying to make the United States a better place. This would be a good fit for an older classroom if they had to do a project on one of the presidents. It has many of things that have happened in his life and during his presidency. Has many quotes to add in and is a good read.
December 7, 2011
This book is a photo-biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He retells the life of the President and his journeys in which he had to endure. The photographs included in the book add strong detail. Freedman discusses Roosevelt’s childhood, his love, the politics, and about his time as our president. His journey to the White House is discussed in grave detail. His accomplishments and great feats accomplished while in office are highlighted in this biography. This book shows his magnificence. This book would be perfect to use in my classroom to discuss President Franklin D. Roosevelt. I can use pieces of the book at a time to key in on different aspects of his life. The pictures can be useful for students to see while learning about him. I can also use it to teach American History in the time period in which he lived.
April 14, 2013
FDR is a well known president and this biography portrays him as daring, flawed,loving, and human. This book goes over the highlights of FDR's life and its impact on America. Some fun facts that I learned were that he was the first to use a car in his campaign and he was the president that caused the two term limit to be put in place. This story was full of fun facts but it also made FDR very human by including his family ties. It addressed his life story from the perspective of a low middle class person which did not idealize his wealthy lifestyle and didn't discredit him either. This text would be a great replacement for a curriculum on the great depression and past presidents because it is understandable and easy to read plus it introduces technologies that the students use daily which shows them a new perspective of the world.
March 20, 2016
This was a great book that was enjoyable to read. I learned more about our 32nd president than I thought I could from a book as short as this. Concisely packing in detail, Freedman manages to outline FDR's life in an engaging manner. Starting at his birth and upraising, through his tenure as a New York senator and WWII, and finishing with his abrupt death, "Franklin Delano Roosevelt" was a great read. Although sometimes needlessly sacrificing material for brevity, overall "Franklin Delano Roosevelt" was informative, easy to read, and refreshingly brief.
July 15, 2008
During the first three-quarters of the book it seemed to glamorize him and didn't speak any bad about him, unlike The Robert F. Kennedy book i read. However, the last quarter it started to talk more of how people questioned some of his decisions. A great picture I found in this book was on page 153, it showes a little boy with a scared look on his face as he is marched to a Nazi death camp. This picture really shows the cruelty of the Naziis.
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November 2, 2010This book made me learn a lot more about FDR than any other books i've read about him. This actually made me surprised about how he lived life as a teenager and how he lived his life when he got polio. Amazingly he still became a president of america even with his disability. A very successful and powerful president that is. If anyone wants to learn more about FDR then this book is quite for you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2016
So I started reading a Biography about Franklin D. Roosevelt. Which was about everything that happened in his life from his legs being injured to his 1, 2, and his 3rd term as a president. The reason I liked this book so much was first that he is a interesting person and second the way the book is formatted in order is very nice and easy to follow. Finally the best part about the book is that it has a lot of information. And this is why i gave it 4 stars.
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January 23, 2017This book by Russell Freedman was very informative about the life of the 32nd president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. If gives information about every point in his life and also the people who passed through Franklin's life. The pictures that are on every page give you more understanding about his life and what he went trough. I would recommend the book to middle schoolers who need a book for someone their researching or for anyone whos over the age of 9 who just likes to read about people!
March 2, 2015
This book was about Franklin D. Roosevelt and his pathway to becoming the president. Also how he went to Harvard played football baseball and golf. Also how he grew up extremely wealthy. Teddy roosevelt ( His cousin ) had presented at FDR's school many times and how Teddy went from a NY police officer to the President as well.
August 22, 2008
Of the four biographies I read by Freedman, this one was my least favorite. Perhaps it was because FDR himself was so difficult to understand in real life! He was president during very hard times and I learned to respect him.
March 2, 2011
Very informative about his early career, early politics, Great Depression, and the second World War.
May 11, 2011
This was a very fast and easy read, very personable, very informative, good for kids. It made me want to read more from the author on other historical figures.
May 11, 2013
The book was a little superficial and I missed some depth especially with regards to his personal life.
July 20, 2013
Well written. Though Freeman is an obvious fan of FDR, he makes sure to acknowledge that FDR is far from controversial. Appropriate for upper elementary and middle school.
June 12, 2014
This was a little old, but good for its intended audience, I think. Nice photo album at the back.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews