Make Your Mark, Franklin Roosevelt

by Judith St. George, Britt Spencer (Illustrations)

Young Franklin Roosevelt grew up knowing the finer things in life— sailing, horseback riding, and foxhunts on his family’s large estate. Growing up wealthy meant he could live a gentleman’s life, like his beloved papa. Yet gentlemen weren’t supposed to go into politics, right? But why not? As young Franklin learns from a famous uncle and a famous mentor, there is more to the world than he thought. And about politics? Well, maybe there is more to that, too. Complete with lively illustrations by new illustrator Britt Spencer, this third book in Judith St. George’s Turning Point series reveals the turning point for the young man who would become one of America’s most honored presidents.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Biography, Presidents, Nonfiction, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2007

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good intro picture book bio. The first two “chapters” were a bit confusing in the way the author described the family relationships.

[Natalie Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Make Your Mark, Franklin Roosevelt (2007) Written by Judith St. George and Illustrated by Britt Spencer
This picture book tells the story of President Franklin Roosevelt as a child. It does a wonderful job of capturing Roosevelt’s passions, personality, and experiences when he was young. The book grants insight into Roosevelt’s family. Roosevelt comes from a well-off family who loves him and gives him everything he needs. Roosevelt loved to read, sail, and ride his horse. What he couldn’t do so well was play sports at the boarding school he attended. Even so, Franklin made his mark at the school, excelling in a debate, the school play, and learning the importance of helping others and serving his country with others.
• I love history and feel great admiration for our past presidents. This book offered an exceptional alternative to the typical biographies. I loved that this picture as solely about Roosevelt’s childhood. I learned so much from reading this picture book because history does not often focus on the family members and childhood of presidents. Rather, it focuses on their accomplishments as an adult, what they did as president for instance. The fact that Roosevelt is depicted as a normal boy makes him relatable to kids. He is no longer some old president but a kid like anyone else.
• The pictures in this book are done in bleed effect. They take up the entire page and are done beautifully, in water color. The background is exceptionally pretty, with lots of green and brown, as trees and mountains are often seen in the distance. Furthermore, there are a lot of bright yellows. The colors make the story welcoming and inviting. Roosevelt’s facial expressions and bright, rosy cheeks match the colors, as the story shows Roosevelt’s adventurous, fun, and pleasant disposition.
• The book is broken down into chapters. There are six of them, and the start of the new chapter is labeled at the top. This was very interesting to see because typically a picture book does not have chapters. This is mostly just common in a chapter book. I thought that the labeled chapters were only fitting because this picture book was extremely text heavy. This was a good thing because it allowed for the author to provide more details about Roosevelt’s life.
This was a truly awesome book! It is fascinating to see what President Roosevelt was like as a child and would be great to read to kids learning about him.

[KarenMLISt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great way to make presidential history accessible to elementary students and it's nice how it focuses on his childhood years primarily. However, there was no mention of his polio except for the endnotes after the book it over - which is where some of the most important history is mentioned. For children though, this book is probably much more suited to their interest level.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun way to capture history in the pages of a book. Children will love the fun illustrations and how the story is presented in a way which they can relate to. It is a fun way to bring history to the classroom.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and educational look into the life of young Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The illustrations are charming and helped make his family into a group of quirky relatable people. My daughter and I both chuckled over his outlandishly overprotective and loveable mother.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! Love biographies like this!!

[Sarah Lancaster]

Grade: 4th-6th
Genre: Biography

I really enjoyed this little historical book! I found it interesting and gave lots of facts. I think it would be great for teachers to use when teaching over Presidents in their classroom, because to has nifty illustrations for the students to look at and holds their interest.