Unhappy and quiet as a child, Eleanor Roosevelt learned to speak for herself as a teenager, encouraged her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt's political career and made one for herself during his presidency and after his death, defending the weak and fighting for freedoms. This brief but inspiring biography combines outsized quotations from her many writings with a simple, direct text (rendered in a large font) delineating her life. Beginning with the striking cover portrait, Kelley’s luminescent pastel illustrations in subdued colors show Eleanor at various stages—serious child, independent schoolgirl, devoted wife, public speaker and United Nations representative—as well as the world she cared for. No specific sources are provided for the quotations, but the author has appended a list of selected research sources, appropriate further reading and websites and a chronology. Suitable for reading aloud as well as independently, this is a gracious and admiring portrait, a splendid way to introduce the “First Lady of the World” to a new generation of young children. (Informational picture book. 5-9)
