Unshakable Eleanor: How Our 32nd First Lady Used Her Voice to Fight for Human Rights

This information-forward biography of notable humanitarian and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) highlights the social causes that she became most known for. A child “told she’s homely and made to feel like a failure,” she clung to her late father’s belief that “she’d grow into a brave, generous young woman.” At a finishing school abroad, she begins to come into her own through studies and sports, making it through her debutante ball and working at a settlement house. After she marries, “Eleanor knows she can do more” than act as a society wife to a politician. Early efforts in labor reform grow to national prominence after her husband is elected president, and Roosevelt travels across the country amid the New Deal, asking people what they need and advocating for marginalized groups. As text weights facts over emotional thrust, Mesa’s digital illustrations give the work a stylized, retro feel with crisp graphics and flat lighting. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. A timeline, bibliography, and more conclude. Ages 4–8. (July)