Liberty Rising: The Story Of The Statue Of Liberty (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Pegi Deitz Shea is the author of many books, including "Tangled Threads and Ten Mice for Tet," which were both named IRA Notable Books for a Global Society. She resides in Rockville, Connecticut, with her family.
Wade Zahares is the illustrator of several books for children, including "Window Music," which was named a "New York Times" Best Illustrated Book. Wade lives on a small farm in Lyman, Maine, among pumpkin patches and flower gardens.

Grade 1-4–Using the concept of building a house or an office building, Shea introduces the size and scale of creating such a large object. Readers meet Edouard de Laboulaye, the law professor who first had the idea of building a monument representing freedom that would be a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France. His early planning with Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi is highlighted. Each step in the process, from small model (four feet high) to full size is told in simple text. The dismantling of the statue, the 214 train cars that transported it to Rouen for the trip across the Atlantic, and its arrival in New York Harbor in 1885 are mentioned. Finally, the unveiling of the statue on October 28, 1886, is highlighted. The book is easy to read, with three-quarter spreads of illustration and single columns of text. The stylized graphic art is fairly realistic with bold colors and unusual angles to create a sense of excitement. They often have a collage effect. They are a trifle busy and sometimes a sense of the scale of the statue gets lost. Two pages of interesting facts appear at the end of the book. This title is more accessible to young readers but much less interesting and captivating than Lynn Curlee's Liberty (S & S, 2000) and Betsy Maestro's The Story of the Statue of Liberty (HarperCollins, 1989).–Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City
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