Michelle

By Deborah Hopkinson

Book Overview

The world has come to know Michelle Obama as an elegant and strong woman. She is wife to President Barack Obama, mother to Malia and Sasha, but also a professional and passionate woman who has devoted... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061827398
• ISBN13: 9780061827396
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.4" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 7 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 2

Customer Reviews

"Don't Let Anybody Set the Limits of Your Dreams!"

American First Lady Michelle Obama is waging war against childhood obesity, declaring at a conference in Washington, D.C. that "Obesity is also one of the biggest threats to the American economy." Her announcement should come as no surprise. The First Lady has always believed in putting health and family first. In her picture-book biography, author Deborah Hopkinson attempts to show the reader what Michelle Obama believes in and why. Growing up in a one-bedroom apartment on the South Side of Chicago, Michelle and her older brother, Craig, didn't have much. Even though her hardworking parents had not gone to college, they strongly believed in a good education. They also stressed the importance "asking questions, believing in yourself, and following your heart", values that Michelle Robinson Obama would later try to instill in her own daughters, Malia and Sasha. "Don't let anybody set the limits of your dreams." - Michelle Obama This biography flows quickly from Michelle's college days to her law career to her courtship with Barack Obama. Since her childhood, Michelle's father had always encouraged his daughter to give back to the community. Later as an adult, she did just that, abandoning her job as a lawyer for community service work. Her dream to make things better for the Chicago community she loved expanded to helping improve health care for the entire nation - and helped Michelle make her own place in history.

This is a well written biography of Michelle Obama that nicely emphasizes the importance of family i

Michelle Robinson was a South Side Chicago girl. She was born into a loving family. Her parents, Fraser and Marian, didn't have a lot to offer her money wise, but they had more than enough love to give her and her brother Craig. They were a strict family who believed in togetherness. Part of that togetherness stressed the importance of education for their children. Both children learned to read at an early age and naturally, homework came before television. In spite of that rule "Michelle still managed to memorize whole episodes of her favorite show, `The Brady Bunch.'" When her father developed multiple sclerosis, he continued to "go to work cheerfully each day." She learned courage and sticktoitiveness from him. Her mother taught her "to believe in herself, to learn from mistakes, to follow her heart-and to get things done." Craig . . . well, she learned to beat him at games! Michelle took many family lessons to heart and as a student became an achiever. She was a gifted student and "aimed high." She was accepted at Princeton and later at Harvard Law. When she finished school, she returned home and got a job as a lawyer. It was when she met a man with an unusual name, Barack Obama, that her life really began to change. There was something about him . . . This is a well written biography of Michelle Obama that nicely emphasizes the importance of family in her life. It easily condenses her life story with the emphasis on things that were most important to her, namely family, community service and education. The artwork is excellent and so realistic that I thought the cover portrait was a photograph. There are many biographies of the Obama family cropping up, but I especially liked this one because it seems to capture the essence of who Michelle is. In the back of the book is an author's note with additional information about Michelle's life. This is a lovely portrait of America's first African American Lady you might want to consider for your home or library collection.