Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness

by Helaine Becker (Author) Aura Lewis (Illustrator)

Eleanor Roosevelt: Her Path to Kindness
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Discover the early years of Eleanor Roosevelt and how her childhood inspired a life devoted to compassionate public service.

​Eleanor Roosevelt's childhood was challenging. When she was young, both of her parents died and she was sent to live with her grandmother, who showed her little affection. Despite her grief, Eleanor persevered: she attended a boarding school in England, where she found a true home under the care of a nurturing teacher.

Eleanor soon blossomed into a strong leader, supporting her struggling classmates. These formative years inspired her sense of compassion and responsibility, setting Eleanor on a path to a lifetime of helping others. With a kind heart and a fierce devotion to hard work, Eleanor Roosevelt became a visionary known for her outspoken activism and public service. This thoughtful story honors her groundbreaking life while also celebrating the spirit of her legacy.

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$18.99

ALA/Booklist

A lengthy author's note expands upon the text, offering more details about Eleanor's sad early life and social justice service later.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3--This look at Eleanor Roosevelt's formative years seeks out the moments that defined the woman to come. Losing her parents and brother at an early age and sent to live with a distant grandmother, Roosevelt found her purpose first at the Allenswood boarding school in England, where she ultimately found comfort and support and emerged as a compassionate, capable leader with a strong social conscience. Becker briefly touches on Roosevelt's childhood anxiety and sense of isolation, and how there was no affection from her grandmother. When Roosevelt attends school in England, Becker becomes more effusive, with flowing sentences to illustrate Roosevelt's own burgeoning personality: "She was no longer lonely. And for the first time in her life, she was not afraid." Mixed media illustrations speak to young Roosevelt's isolation, often putting her toward the front of the page and set apart; as she becomes more confident, she is pictured in groups of others, with attentive body language. Endpapers are blue on blue with silhouetted icons from Roosevelt's life. VERDICT So many biographies focus on Roosevelt's social activism and public service later in life; this work provides an origin point. A very good purchase for picture book biography collections.--Rosemary Kiladitis

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

This whirlwind biography of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) highlights how her difficult early years served in the development of the fundamentals behind her later work. Opening with Roosevelt's dramatic rescue from the sinking SS Britannic as a toddler, ensuing scenes describe an anxious childhood marked by further trauma after her parents and brother die. A British boarding school and travel offer an emotional turning point, leading to Roosevelt's embrace of volunteer work back home: "In the tenements of New York, surrounded by friends and doing work she loved, Eleanor was finally in her element." A chance encounter with cousin Franklin closes, leaving a detailed author's note to flesh out the details of the pair's marriage and accomplishments. Lewis's pale gouache, watercolor, digital illustrations spotlight the figure as she matures through a mix of vignettes and spreads. Emphasizing overcoming fear, Becker holds up the determined subject as a model: "She had no time for fear--her work was too important!" Resources included. Ages 5-9. (Feb.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

This picture-book biography traces Roosevelt's formative years and how they shaped the famous figure Americans recall today.... Springtime colors prevail in Lewis' simple, textured illustrations, which help keep the biography's tone upbeat. A lengthy author's note expands upon the text, offering more details about Eleanor's sad early life and social justice service later. - Booklist 

Helaine Becker
Helaine Becker is the bestselling author of more than 90 books for children and young adults, including Counting on Katherine, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree and Emmy Noether. She is a two-time recipient of the Lane Anderson Award and a winner of both the Silver Birch Award and the Red Cedar Award. Helaine lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario.
Sandra Dumais is a children's book illustrator and owner of an online retail shop that sells prints and housewares. The picture books that she has collaborated on have received top honors from the Booksellers' Association of Quebec. Sandra lives with her family in Montreal, Quebec.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316316415
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Christy Ottaviano Books-Little Brown and Hachette
Publication date
February 28, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV000000 - Juvenile Fiction | General
Library of Congress categories
Biographies
Civil rights workers
United States
Roosevelt, Eleanor
Women civil rights workers

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