Review: Social Studies Poetry

Title: Lady Liberty: A Biography

Author: Doreen Rappaport

Illustrator: Matt Tavares

ISBN: 978-0-7636-2530-6

Citation: Rappaport, Doreen. Lady Liberty: A Biography. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2008.

Review: Lady Liberty documents the process by which the Statue of Liberty was conceived, built, and bestowed as a gift from France to the United States. Writing in verse, Doreen Rappaport presents this series of events from the perspectives of those who lived it; from Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor, to Joseph Pulitzer, who helped raise funds through his newspaper. The detailed artwork of Matt Tavares complements each step of the twenty-year process through which Lady Liberty was erected. Rappaport's innovative style makes Lady Liberty a fascinating, heart-warming tale of unity, friendship, and admiration between two countries. By unfolding the events that led to this symbol of freedom through the eyes of those who lived it, readers are able to experience the passion behind the statue. Rappaport's narrative flows nicely between two countries and a variety of people involved in Lady Liberty's creation. Readers will appreciate the accounts of the well-known contributors, such as Auguste Bartholdi, Gustave Eiffel, and Joseph Pulitzer; but also the stories of so-called "everyday people" such as Florence de Foreest, a young girl who sends two roosters to raise money for the cause, and Charles P. Stone, a construction worker in New York City physically laboring to erect the statue. Evoking a plethora of sensory images, Rappaport's abundant use of figurative language adds color and complexity to the verse. Matt Tavares's beautiful watercolor and ink paintings bring the story to life leaving readers emotionally moved and with a new appreciation of the ideals for which Lady Liberty stands.

Potential Use: The poem, Marie Simon, offers the unique opportunity to pair poetry with mathematics. Discussing the scale of the Statue of Liberty and the need to multiply the scale of the model several times to plan for the actual size, provides students with an example of a real life application of a mathematical concept. Read the poem in conjunction with a unit on scale to make cross-curricular connections between language arts, history, and mathematics.

Marie Simon

After months of work,

we have finished the right arm and torch.

Now we start on the left hand.

We go back to Bartholdi's four-foot clay model.

The pointers measure her forearm, wrist,

fingers, nails, and tablet.

They multiply each part by two

to build a model twice as big.

Again, they measure and multiply,

this time by four.

Slowly. Carefully. Section by section,

the workers build a bigger model.

Bartholdi moves about like a prowling tiger,

reminding everyone to be precise.

Again, measure and multiply by four.

This third model pleases Bartholdi.

The workers divide it into twenty-one parts.

Each part will be enlarged another four times.

Now the carpenters begin.

Day in, day out, buzzing and sawing.

Wood chips and sawdust litter on the floor.

Narrow wooden strips are bent and

nailed together to form the giant molds.

Some wood is carved to make softer lines.

White dust clings to the workers

as they pour plaster over the wood

until the shapes are just right.

Bartholdi waits impatiently

for the plaster to harden.