Our Eleanor: A Scrapbook Look at Eleanor Roosevelt's Remarkable Life by Candace Fleming

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fleming, Candace. (2005). OUR ELEANOR: A SCRAPBOOK LOOK AT ELEANOR ROOSEVELT'S REMARKABLE LIFE. NY: Simon & Schuster.  ISBN 0689865449

PLOT SUMMARY

Arranged appealingly in a scrapbook fashion, Fleming candidly details the extraordinary life of Eleanor Roosevelt, who is perhaps America’s most famous First Lady.  To maintain reader interest, she fills the book from cover to cover with numerous personal photos, newspaper clippings, vintage pictures, and an abundance of Eleanor’s own correspondence.  By sharing her tragedies, insecurities, personal triumphs, and viewpoints on life, this intriguing book presents Eleanor as a living, breathing woman who was much more than just the President’s wife.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

As an acclaimed biographer, Fleming is known for her honesty and respectfulness.  Her award-winning biographies which include The Great and Only Barnum, Amelia Lost, The Lincolns , and Ben Franklin's Almanac demonstrate her great attention to factual detail.  The lengthy source notes found in Our Eleanor attest to the fact that this book is no exception.  Quotations from chapters are carefully documented so that readers can easily locate the information if necessary.  To truthfully portray the First Lady, Fleming examined Eleanor’s own personal papers housed at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library.  These included private letters, childhood diaries, and magazine articles. 

Although she was privy to a wealth of intimate information, Fleming’s point of view remains unbiased.  This is especially evident in the sidebar titled, “Was She or Wasn’t She?” in which she discusses speculation regarding Eleanor’s sexuality.  In addition, she is quite frank in sharing Eleanor’s personal views.  From one of Eleanor’s letters dated around 1920, she quotes Eleanor as saying, “I’d rather be hung than seen at a gathering that was mostly Jews.”  To show that this wasn’t just a passing statement, Fleming also reveals this statement from 1939, “there may be a need for curtailing the ascendancy of the Jewish people.”  Readers might be shocked to hear such words from Eleanor, but Fleming shares these statements to humanize Eleanor.  Although such views are now considered “racist,” they were widely accepted by many Americans during this particular era.   

The book is organized chronologically around particular themes such as Eleanor’s childhood in “Sad Little Nell,” her growing independence in “Self Discovery” and her life as the President’s wife in “A First Lady Like No Other.”  The Table of Contents allows readers to pick and choose particular themes by chapter.  Below each title is a brief, but enticing quote from Eleanor to give readers a preview of what to expect inside.  A reader interested in Eleanor’s activities after leaving the White House might only be interested in the chapter entitled “First Lady of the World,” whose quote is most inviting - “I had few definite plans, but I knew there were certain things I did not want to do.  I did not want to run an elaborate household again.  I did not want to cease being useful in some way.  I did not want to feel old.”  Readers will find the index particularly useful since Eleanor was a very public figure associated with many people and involved in numerous activities and organizations.   Other useful access features include a family tree, a timeline of Eleanor’s life, photographs, cartoons, and newspaper clippings.

It is extremely apparent that great care was taken in the design of this book.  Even the seemingly simple title of Our Eleanor urges readers to think of this legendary individual as “one of us.”  If that doesn’t work, then perhaps the faded color photograph on the front cover will.  Most people know Eleanor Roosevelt only through black and white photographs.  But Fleming presents this rare color photograph of a smiling Eleanor with sparkling blue eyes to immediately remind readers that she was indeed a “real” person.  Placing Eleanor’s story on light tan colored pages and adding framed titles, sidebars, and pictures creates a very dramatic scrapbook effect.  It actually feels as if one is flipping through an old photograph album.  In this unique biographical format, pictures and text complement each other beautifully through the precise selection and placement of photographs, sidebars, and other memorabilia.  

Fleming’s writing style can best be described as a smooth flowing narrative sprinkled with noteworthy quotes.   The unique scrapbook effect makes individual stories “just right” in length and quantity of information.  Although each page may contain more than one story, the concise text ensures that readers never have to flip the page to continue reading.  For example, the story about Franklin’s first inauguration day takes up merely one-third of a page, so that Fleming can include a vintage photograph of the actual swearing-in ceremony.  Fleming’s passion for her subject is evident in the extensive research and coverage of this famous American.  She skillfully collects interesting details which truly epitomize Eleanor as “one of us” – a woman struggling to find her own way of contributing to the world.  These expert touches clearly distinguish Fleming’s work from other biographers resulting in books that are entertaining, educational, and inspiring.

REVIEW EXCERPTS/AWARDS
ALA Notable Book
Best Book for Young Adults
Jefferson Cup winner,Virginia Library Association
Junior Library Guild Selection
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2005
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Medal Winner
Parent's Choice Gold Medal
Publisher's Weekly Best Book 2005
School Library Journal Best Book 2005

From Kirkus Reviews: (Ages 10-14) "An incredibly well-organized and thorough scrapbook...it will appeal to readers who only want to dip in and read what's interesting."

From School Library Journal: (Grades 4-8) "Fleming is honest, respectful, and astute throughout, addressing both successes and controversies with balance."

CONNECTIONS - Social Studies/American History

A MUST VIEW - in this short video clip, Candace discusses why she writes biographies: http://www.candacefleming.com/

Other book-related actitivies include:
1) Students may choose a particular topic from the book that they would like to learn more about.  Examples include: the Great Depression, Tuskeegee Airmen, the United Nations, the Bonus Marchers, Arthurdale, Japanese Internment Camps, Quadalcanal, etc...

Through a 5-10 minute presentation, students will share this new information with the class.  Encourage them to be creative in their presentations and allow a variety of formats such as slide shows, video, posters, etc...

2) Students may create a timeline of the major events in Eleanor's life.  Select a particular focus such as her personal life, her political life with FDR, or her public service. 

3) Students may select one of Eleanor's famous quotes to display on a small banner.  They will share with the class why they selected the quote and what it means to them.  Besides the quotes presented in the book, many more can be located at:
www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Eleanor_Roosevelt
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/eleanor_roosevelt_3.html