Eleanor Roosevelt, Fighter for Justice

July 30, 2018
Studded with lively anecdotes and archival photos, Cooper’s cogent biography elucidates the breadth of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s commitment to and efficacy in the fights for women’s rights, desegregation, and child labor law reforms. The author deftly juggles Roosevelt’s personal and public personas, moving through her lonely, unsettled childhood (she was orphaned by the age of nine), her sometimes volatile marriage to FDR, her indefatigable championing of underdogs, her pivotal influence over legislation, and her work as a U.S. delegate to the newly formed United Nations. Cooper also delves deeply into Roosevelt’s struggles to overcome her childhood-rooted racial and religious prejudices in order to fight against the same. Using ample, carefully sourced quotes from her subject, Cooper (A Woman in the House (and Senate)) provides an authentic, expansive portrait, incorporating concise explanations of historical milestones such as both world wars, the Great Depression, and the New Deal. In the present era of increasingly galvanized young activists and controversial immigration policies (Roosevelt advocated tirelessly on behalf of refugees and immigrants), this is an indisputably timely book. Ages 10–14.

Starred review from June 1, 2018

Gr 6-9-An eye-opening journey through Eleanor Roosevelt's life, career, and social justice work. Cooper tells the life story of Roosevelt in chronological chapters beginning with her lonely childhood, then the joy and challenges of her marriage to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and her subsequent career as a politician's wife during significant historical events. There is a focus on the Depression and the resulting government programs to help poverty-stricken Americans and the civil rights movements of the 1930s and 1940s. The author's meticulous research creates a realistic portrayal of Roosevelt by including her achievements and also recognizing the limitations of her upbringing and status which affected Roosevelt's social justice work. Her correspondence with civil rights activist Pauli Murray is included as an example of her ignorance of the plight of African Americans and her willingness to learn and change. Cooper mentions how Roosevelt's beliefs were tempered by the political expectations of her husband and his party, both of which often restrained her from speaking out. A variety of photographs effectively aid the story and detailed back matter includes one of Roosevelt's speeches on civil liberties. VERDICT An engaging biography that will greatly enhance middle school collections.-Casey O'Leary, Mooresville Public Library, IN

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018
This biography of Eleanor Roosevelt portrays her as a tireless champion of the underdog and a high-profile advocate for civil and human rights. Using her subject's first name, Cooper focuses on Eleanor's involvement in the civil rights movement but notes that even in her 30s she "paid virtually no attention to the difficulties of African Americans who faced prejudice every day...despite the fact she was aware of the turmoil in the black community." Not until she was first lady did racial injustice gain Eleanor's full attention, partly due to her surrounding herself with such activists as Mary McLeod Bethune, Walter White, and Pauli Murray. Cooper writes that an awakening came when she helped raise money for Arthurdale, a planned community in West Virginia for out-of-work coal miners. Eleanor was shocked to learn that whites who had lived together with blacks in poverty for decades refused to let them join the community. This led Eleanor to understand "how corrosive the systemic segregation of African Americans was." Cooper chronicles how she did everything possible to keep civil rights a focus of the Roosevelt administration, including such piquant details as her insistence on attending a public event against the advice of the FBI and with her pistol to protect herself against the Klan, which had issued a $25,000 bounty. Cooper is silent on Roosevelt's romantic relations with other women, however.A muscular and admiring profile in moral courage. (photos, timeline, notes, bibliography) (Biography. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.