Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic

Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady, humanitarian, hot dog lover? Yes, indeed, says Kimmelman in a story built around a 1939 picnic the Roosevelts hosted for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Juhasz’s caricatures provide plenty of humor: during a stuffy White House dinner, Eleanor Roosevelt is seen dreaming of a mustard-covered frankfurter, and, later, the king and queen look quite green following a twisty, high-speed car trip through the New York countryside courtesy of F.D.R. However, this team doesn’t neglect the serious matters at hand, either (“Three months later, German tanks rolled into the country of Poland”), using the picnic to demonstrate the bond between Britain and the United States as war loomed. Ages 6–10. (Apr.)