In 1876, France decided to give the United States a very big and very special present--the Statue of Liberty. The gift was to commemorate the 100th birthday of the United States, and just packing it was no small feat--350 pieces in 214 crates shipped across the ocean. The story of how the 111-foot-tall lady took her place in the New York Harbor will fascinate young readers.
Here we are on the cusp of the United States celebration of Independence and what better symbol of our country to read about for the occasion. I was fortunate enough to get to visit this enormous statue in 1976 during the Bicentennial. Yes, I walked up the 354 steps up to the crown and got to see out. It was glorious. However, that is not what I am here to talk about am I?
Joan Holub along with her illustrator, John Hinderliter began the book with the inception of the statue before it was even on paper. The duo gave complete history of the Statue of Liberty right on into present day.
The creator of the Statue of Liberty was Frederich-Auguste Bartholdi who saw the vision and created smaller versions until the statute we know now came to be. Gustave Eiffel from the later Eiffel Tower fame created the inner structures that help the statue together. This was news for me!
In fact, even though I visited this now American icon all those years ago, I learned a lot from this book. A few facts to share without giving away the entire book:
*Even though the statue was a gift, it was almost rejected by the American people, in particular the upper American wealthy at the time.
*Only the arm and the torch were originally brought to the U. S. for display. People paid to walk up a ladder to the top of the torch.
*The island the Statue of Liberty was placed on was chosen by the artist, originally called Bedloe Island.
* The statue was shipped in 350 pieces which had to be reassembled like a puzzle. The problem was that some of the boxes were mismarked upon leaving France.
*The sandals of Lady Liberty were 25 feet long, which is the equivalent of size 879.
I will not reveal more but there is so much more to read and fascinating history and people involved.
The book also includes 16 original black and white photos which were absolutely amazing to see.
Overall, if you ever get the chance to see our nations Statue of Liberty you will not be disappointed. Until you can get there, read this book and learn a little about her before you go. You won't be disappointed in that either.
This book gets 5 stars!
Disclosure:I received a copy of this book in exchange for my open and honest opinion. The views expressed here are 100% my own and may differ from yours.
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