• Age: 5 to 9
• Grade: k to 4
• Reading age: 5 to 9

I bet you didn’t know that young Eleanor Roosevelt was:
– Afraid of most animals as a child.
– An orphan by the age of ten.
– Taken under the wing of her boarding school headmistress.
– Became an investigator for the Consumer League of NYC and advocated for better working conditions.

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 pertaining to civil and human rights. This thoughtful story honors her groundbreaking life while also celebrating the spirit of her legacy. In Eleanor’s words: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

"This look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s formative years seeks out the moments that defined the woman to come…. A very good purchase for picture book biography collections." —School Library Journal

"This picture-book biography traces Eleanor Roosevelt's formative years and how they shaped the famous figure Americans recall today." —Booklist

"Highlights how Eleanor Roosevelt's difficult early years served in the development of the fundamentals behind her later work.... Helaine Becker holds up the determined subject as a model: 'She had no time for fear—her work was too important!'" —Publishers Weekly

Helaine Becker
est l'auteure de nombreux livres jeunesse primés. Elle a écrit plus de 80
livres, dont Raconte-moi les graphiques : L'histoire de William Playfair et
l'album illustré à succès Un porc-épic dans un sapin. Helaine
habite à Toronto, en Ontario.

HELAINE BECKER is the author of numerous of books of fiction and non-fiction for children, among them the best-selling A Porcupine in a Pine Tree and its sequel, Dashing Through the Snow: A Canadian Jingle Bells, The Haunted House That Jack Built and Little Jack Horner, Live from the Corner. Her books have won the Silver Birch Award and the CBA Libris Award and have been shortlisted for the Red Cedar, the Hackmatack and the Rocky Mountain awards. Helaine lives in Toronto with her family. Visit her at www.helainebecker.com.

Helaine Becker's profile page

Aura Lewis' profile page

"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

Praise for Eleanor Roosevelt:

"This look at Eleanor Roosevelt’s formative years seeks out the moments that defined the woman to come…. 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."—SLJ

"Highlights how [Eleanor Roosevelt's] difficult early years served in the development of the fundamentals behind her later work.... 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!'"

—Publishers Weekly