How Our 32nd First Lady Used Her Voice
to Fight for Human Rights
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Balzer + Bray
(HarperCollins)
(pub. 7.2.2024)
40 pages
Ages 4 - 8
Author: Michelle Markel
Illustrator: Alejandro Mesa
Character: Eleanor Roosevelt
Overview:
" Before she became First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt was a girl trying to find her voice.
As a young orphan, she was shy and made to feel like a failure. But every night, Eleanor would read her father’s letters, full of love and belief in her, and she used his words to help her face her fears.
She took them to school across the sea, where she excelled at her studies and helped other girls with theirs. And back to New York, where she volunteered in immigrant communities.
Using her voice to help others gave her courage. Eleanor began speaking out in bigger ways.
When her husband, Franklin, became president, she worked with—and learned from—leaders of marginalized groups, using her standing to fight for workers, women, and people of color. Every victory, big and small, drove Eleanor to do more."
Tantalizing taste:
"To many white citizens, especially in the South, Eleanor's behavior is scandalous. She's always in the news, rallying support for her causes. Some people think she's overstepped her bounds, as a woman and as a First Lady. Some say she's dangerous.
The press runs ugly cartoons, the FBI tracks her activities, the public sends vicious letters – one even asks Franklin to chain Eleanor up and muzzle her.
But they can't crush her dreams...
The truth is, change is slow and painful.
Is she discouraged? Yes.
Will she give up? Never.
Every small victory makes a difference."
And something more: Author Michelle Markel shared some thoughts with me about her inspiration for writing Unshakable Eleanor: "One of the most surprising things about Eleanor is that she was a shy, fearful girl - someone unlikely to succeed. She was made to feel like a failure, because she didn't inherit the beauty of her mother and aunts. Luckily, a few nurturing figures helped Eleanor find her inner strength. Her father told her she had the makings of a noble young lady, her uncle (Teddy Roosevelt) threw her into the ocean to teach her how to swim, and the headmistress at her finishing school praised her intelligence and generosity. Which proves that a little encouragement goes a long way!" It certainly did, in Eleanor's case!
The Back Matter of the book includes detailed "Timeline of Eleanor Roosevelt's Life and Her Work for Human Rights", More about People of Color and Women During the Depression, "People of Color and Women During the New Deal", and "Mary McLeod Bethune (educator and civil rights advocate), Walter White (civil rights activist, investigator, and writer), and the Roosevelt Administration."
The wonderfully written story of Unshakable Eleanor tells the fascinating and inspiring story of the influential Eleanor Roosevelt who overcame her insecurities and advocated for the rights and needs of others.
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