CLIP Review: Lady Liberty: A Biography

Author - Doreen Rappaport

Illustrator - Matt Tavares
Grades 1 - 3

When did the vision for building this elegant lady begin? Why was the dream of creating and sharing her with the world so inspiring that a team of sculptors and engineers united their energies and skills to construct her? 

From the moment Edouard De Laboulaye shared his dream until Lady Liberty's unveiling in New York's Harbor some 20 years later, you'll both see the behind-the-scenes progress of her "growth" as well as read detailed accounts from those involved.  Each person gives an account of their part in Liberty's creation from a different point of view, and yet they share one common bond: to them liberty was not some abstract concept. Each knew what it was like to live without liberty, and knew it was something worth celebrating.

One hint - You'll want to have a yardstick nearby when reading this as the dimensions for the statue are given.  Most of your children will probably be about the size of Liberty's mouth (3' 0") to the length of her nose (4' 6").  Have fun measuring her torch or hand, but I wouldn't suggest you try her height from base to torch! When gazing on the last, lovely illustration, I couldn't help singing, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing..." 

 More resources about the Statue of Liberty are given at the end of this book.
 The official website of the Statue of Liberty is www.nps.gov/stli/parkmgmt/index.htm