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Rating: 
Summary: A superb first biography for students to learn about FDR
Review: I am currently working my way through various juvenile biographies of the Presidents in alphabetical order and the Profiles of the Presidents series has carved out a niche as the best volumes for young readers to be introduced to the occupants of the White House. This look at Franklin D. Roosevelt by Michael Burgan provides a solid introduction to the wheelchair-bound president who optimistically led the United States through more than a decade of economic, social, and political problems. After establishing FDR as "A President with Hope," Burgan provides the standard biography of Roosevelt's rich childhood, his early involvement in politics, and the polio that paralyzed his legs. From that point on the book is organized more by national events: the Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II. Burgan does a nice job of explaining how FDR responded to each of these challenges and underscores that it was this President who changed the role of the president and the role of the government in people's lives.The Profiles of the Presidents series goes from George Washington to George W. Bush and each book features a glossary, fast facts about the president, a parallel timeline of world and presidential events, an index, and other resourcs intended to help young students better understand the life and times of each president. The books are lavishly illustrated and even the black & white photographs sometimes have golden frames around them to keep the look of the book up to date, which it proves with the final photo of the statues of FDR and his dog, Fala, that are part of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The result is another solid effort in a fine series. Young students can get more information about FDR from other books later in their education, but this would be the ideal choice for their first book about the man who was elected President of the United States four times.
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