Eleanor by Barbara Cooney

This past weekend, my mom, sister and I visited the First Ladies Exhibit at the American History Smithsonian in D.C.  The exhibit is full of the gowns that the First Ladies wore to their husbands' inaugural balls; they are truly exquisite and intricate gowns.

Throughout the exhibit, placards explain the many and varying contributions of each First Lady.  If you are in the D.C area and have never seen this exhibit, I highly recommend taking time to go see this exceptional museum display.

Eleanor by Barbara Cooney goes into the younger life of Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the Presidents' wives with a dress in the above exhibit.  Throughout the story, nobody really likes Eleanor.

In fact, the opening line sums up much of the book, "From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother" (Cooney 1).  Her parents really do not have time for their little daughter.

The mother calls her "Granny" because of her old-fashioned demeanor; however, Eleanor adores her father and forgives his many faults including leaving the family.

Unfortunately, her father and her mother both die before Eleanor was nine years old.  Her childhood was not an easy one.  Everyone thought she was plain.

And yet despite all of the difficulties she faced, she blossomed and became the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Though the facts were intriguing about the younger life of this lady that impacted America, the writing dragged on tediously.

The overall writing was not engaging; I did not feel connected to Eleanor as a person as I did with Abraham Lincoln in Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln.

Perhaps part of the disconnect came from the pictures of Eleanor.  The book has lovely pictures full of color, wide expanses, and setting details.

However, Eleanor often has her back to the viewer or is in the background; when one does see her face, she wears no expression.  This alienates the viewer from becoming involved emotionally in the story.

Because the facts presented are intriguing to contemplate and the pictures as a whole are beautiful, I would say this book is worth reading for the pictures.  After all, it is a picture book and really does not take that long to read if a child really wants to know more about this First Lady.