The Statue of Liberty

A history of America's most famous statue, discussing how it was built and why it was given to the United States.From School Library JournalGrade 2-5 A straightforward account of the people and ideas which inspired Bartholdi's arduous battle to make the Statue of Liberty a reality. The book's many black-and-white photographs and prints are effectively dramatic. The paper is of high quality, and the layout and design are superb. Included is information about vital statistics and a plan of repairs. The index is thorough and makes this an excellent book for beginning researchers. It is comparable to two other books, both entitled The Statue of Liberty , one by William E. Shapiro (Watts, 1985), the other by Leonard E. Fisher (Holiday, 1985). However, it has the advantage of being shorter and more manageable for younger readers. As is usual with Haskins' efforts, it is well-written and accurate, but it does lack the liveliness of Coerr's Lady with a Torch (Harper, 1986). Huck Scarry's drawings make Mary J. Shapiro's How They Built the Statue of Liberty (Random, 1985) a more valuable choice, as she includes all the information offered here as well. For introducing this topic to very young children, the Maestros' The Story of the Statue of Liberty (Lothrop, 1986) is a lovely picture book. Deborah Vose, Brooklyn Friends School LibraryCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.