Despite coming from a privileged background Eleanor's childhood was awful, her mother was horrible, calling her names and saying she was unattractive and her father was an alcoholic. After being orphaned, Eleanor went to a finishing school where an inspiring teacher helped her gain confidence and become a popular member of the school.This was such an absorbing story, what a tough upbringing, so cruel and unstable despite it's respectable facade. This book finished with Eleanor still in youth, it...

Eleanor Rooseveldt had a worse mother than you. she did.that she became herself is amazing. Barbara Cooney is a great storyteller.

Interesting. More like a story than a biography; more like inspirational fiction than a research resource. I very much enjoyed it... but I just don't know if young me would have, or if other children would. Cooney's art just what one would expect.

Read before being weeded from the library. It was nice to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt's sad childhood and how two people helped her develop into the confident and competent first lady and activist that she became. Not a great children's book, however; the topic is more suitable for adults who like picture books.

Loved Barbara Cooney's illustrations in this story about rich little girl Eleanor's bleak childhood. If your looking for a biography about Eleanor Roosevelt, a more (and longer) one is Russell Freedman's Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery.

SubjectEleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was an American activist, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States.ScopeThis book restricts itself to Eleanor Roosevelt's early life and education, beginning with her birth as "an ugly little thing" who was "a disappointment to her mother" for not being a boy. It covers the loss of her mother and father as well as her entrance into boarding school, where she becomes a special favorite of Mlle. Souvestre. The book ends before Eleanor meets her futur...

Eleanor lived a very sad childhood. She was not pretty, and was reminded of that by her mother often. She was awkward and reminded of that by her mother and others often. While her family was wealthy, they were not without problems. Eleanor adored her father because he seemed to be the only one who paid attention to her and loved her.Sadly, he was an alcoholic and was ostracized by her mother's side of the family. When her parents lived apart, she was incredibly lonely. Through a series of tragi...

I love Barbara Cooney's books so when I saw this, I didn't bother to read the back description. If I would have, I might have realized before reading the first page, that this was about Eleanor Roosevelt's early life.And what a sad life she had. That's painted pretty vividly. This is not a happy book by any means, especially if you know of her later years while married to Franklin D. Roosevelt. In any case, the book is beautifully illustrated, portrays Eleanor's sad childhood and shows that when...

Whimsical, rather sad story of Eleanor Roosevelt, from a little, sad, plain girl, to a strong, confident and brave woman, accompanied by wonderful illustrations by one and only Barbara Cooney.

What a wonderful picture book about the early life of Eleanor Roosevelt.

*not happy with the writing and character demeaning. Review Coming soon 🤦☕

She had such sad beginnings. 😞

Title: Eleanor Author: Barbara Cooney Genre: Biography (Grades 3-5)Theme(s): childhood, loneliness, American history, responsibilityOpening line/sentence (type directly from text): From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother. She was born red and wrinkled, an ugly little thing. And she was not a boy.Brief Book Summary:This biography tells the story of Eleanor Roosevelt’s early childhood that included the death of her parents and constantly feeling like she did not belong or wa...

Eleanor is the story of the priviledged but sad childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt. Rejected by her mother because of her plain looks and deprived of affection, Eleanor's early life was filled with loneliness and fears. After her father left the family and her mother died when she was eight, Eleanor was sent to live in the grim household of her grandmother, where again loneliness and rejection were constants in her life. However, Eleanor did participate in charitable efforts for the less fortunate,

I think this book is a valiant effort by an author clearly fascinated by Eleanor Roosevelt (she supposedly spent three years researching the story) who is a capable illustrator to boot (though these pictures didn't hold the charm of some of Cooney's others for me). However, overall, I felt that it fell a little flat. It's a biography that strives to include little details to make Eleanor's childhood interesting and relevant, but somehow fails to make her really "live" in my mind. It's not really...

This book follows the life of Eleanor Roosevelt and how she grew up in cheerless household. Her mother stated from day one when she was born, that Eleanor was a disappointment. Eleanor only had two truly admiring person which was her father and Mille. Her father spent a lot of time with her when she was younger, up until her mother died and brother died. Soon after being an orphan when her father also passes away, her grandmother raises her but sends her to a boarding school to follow her parent...

“Eleanor” is a partial biography of Eleanor Roosevelt. The book covers her early life from childhood to young adult.Many books have been written about Eleanor Roosevelt. This book is interesting in that it only covers her childhood it does not cover her life as first lady. Writer, Barbara Cooney, describes Eleanor’s feelings throughout the book, e.g. “strange children frightened her.” Another passage in the book describes Eleanor being sent down to the parlor where her mother is entertaining. Sh...

Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my favorite female role models. I've read various accounts of her life and thought I knew much about her childhood. That being said, there were many details in this children's book that were new to me- so much so that I spent some time researching after I read it to be sure the author was accurate in her accounts. Sure enough, Barbara Cooney spent three years researching Eleanor Roosevelt in preparation for writing this book! It is recommended for ages 5 and up, but I...

Title: EleanorAuthor: Barbara CooneyIllustrator>: Barbara CooneyGenre: Biography (Picture Book)Theme(s): Childhood & Youth, First Ladies, Biography, Eleanor Roosevelt Opening line/sentence: From the beginning the baby was a disappointment to her mother. She was born red and wrinkled, an ugly little thing. And she was not a boy.Brief Book Summary: This is a retelling of Eleanor Roosevelt’s life. From her birth and being an undesirable girl to her early adulthood this story shows all of Eleanor’s

This is a biography of the childhood of Eleanor Roosevelt. She lived with her mother and father until her younger brothers were born and her father went away. Eleanor's mother died when she was eight as well as her brother Ellie and her father passed away a year later when she was nine. She was sent to a boarding school by her grandmother when she was fifteen years old and when she was eighteen she left Allenswood and went on to live a happy, healthy life. I feel that this biography of Eleanor R...