Victoria Garrett Jones

The more I read about this remarkable woman, I am increasingly in awe of not only her spirit, but her life and all that she overcame.

A child verbally abused by a beautiful society born mother. Known to call Eleanor "Granny," increasingly Eleanor was told how very ugly she was. Born with teeth that were too large for her mouth, it is amazing that the family of huge wealth, did nothing to remedy this issue.

Her father Elliott Roosevelt, brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, had a severe drinking problem which led to embarrassment for the family.

While in Europe, self-centered Anna Hall Roosevelt, left her husband, taking her children back to the United States. He was placed in an institution in the hope he would be cured.

This action deeply wounded little Eleanor. He was the center of her life, and the only person who exhibited love to her.

While her childhood impacted greatly, Franklin Roosevelt was drawn to her intelligence. She married Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became President. She had five children, 13 grandchildren, and toured the United States during the time of depression, bringing back the importance of supporting the poor.

She changed the world for her husband as his polio increasingly became an impediment.

There is much that could be written, I am most impressed with her dedication to social rights. She took bold stands at a time when black people were denied even simple rights.

When the Daughter of the American Revolution denied the right of highly talented opera singer Marian Anderson to perform at their constitution hall because she was an "African American," Eleanor wrote an exceedingly strong letter to the organization.

She quit her membership and stated that she knew her resignation would not make a difference, still, she wanted them to know how very saddened to know their stance on refusing Marian Anderson, "in effect by denying this talented woman the right she deserved, they denied an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way, and it seems to me that your organization has failed."

These indeed were strong words. The Roosevelt administration arranged a concert for Marian Anderson to highlight her talent where she appeared at the Lincoln Memorial to a group of 75,000
people.

She lead the way for the formation of the United Nations, and in 1947, she was selected as the Chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights!

There is more, so much more that she accomplished.… (mer)

I liked this book for several reasons. The main idea of this book is to teach readers about the life of Pocahontas. First, I enjoyed that the book featured a timeline in the beginning of the book. This mapped out the key events in Pocahontas’ life, such as her kidnapping by Captain Samuel Argall in 1613 and marriage to John Rolfe in 1614. This gives the reader an easy to understand reference sheet that they can look back on as they read the chapters. I also enjoyed that several times the book devotes entire pages to unfamiliar Native American practices/ objects that the reader may not have heard of before. For example, the book devotes a page to explaining ‘wampum’ – a Native American tapestry that often tells the story or history of a family. This allows the reader to better understand the Native American culture, which in turn enhances the biography of Pocahontas! The illustrations included paintings that help the reader visualize the time period. I also really enjoyed that each chapter begins with a quote or snippet of a journal entry by John Smith. For example, Chapter 4 (Jamestown) begins with “Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man’s habitation – John Smith”. This gives the reader an added perspective and ties in some historical writings which I think adds meaning to the biography. Each chapter was also broken up into subheadings, which breaks the chapter up nicely and allows the reader to process the sequence of events easier. One of my favorite parts was the family tree at the end of the book. The caption explains that thousands of Americans today believe their roots go back to Pocahontas, and the family tree provides a look at 12 generations that are said to have succeeded Pocahontas. This shows the lasting effect Pocahontas had and how many generations were directly impacted by her and her life! I think this book would serve young readers very well in understanding Pocahontas’ importance to the history of Virginia as well as Native American history.… (mer)

This is a biography of Pocahontas. While it is full of information about Pocahontas's life, it does gloss over certain information to make it less frightening for elementary school readers. I like that it had sidebars, insets, and asides throughout the book to add more detail. These extra bits of information filled in for young readers what they would not have understood had they simply read the biography all the way through. The pictures were great to follow along with the reading. They were well placed and provided a visual for young readers about the life and culture of the Powatan people and that historical time period.… (mer)