STATUE OF LIBERTY READS

STATUE OF LIBERTY READS

We have a special birthday this week! It's Lady Liberty's birthday! Unveiled Oct. 28, 1886, this gift from France to the U.S. has become one of our most iconic symbols of freedom and liberty.

It was a discussion I had with one of our members (that I had the pleasure of seeing this weekend at a local festival) that got me thinking about the statue. We were discussing our ancestors that journeyed across the ocean to begin new lives. She mentioned poetry by the authoress Emma Lazarus, whose beautiful poem graces the pedestal of this great statue.

My mind must have been slow cooking all that info while I slept, because when I woke up my first thought was I have a picture book about a picnic in October by the Statue of Liberty. I wonder when her birthday is? Ta-Da! It's this week! Isn't it amazing how minds work?

I'm including 3 books and a copy of the poem for kids to enjoy in this post!

Naming Liberty by Jane Yolen- This is a beautiful book with 2 stories merging into 1. Story 1 is the story of a Russian Jewish family emigrating to the United States. Story 2 is the story of Bartholdi the creator of The Statue of Liberty. Be sure and check out Yolen's notes where she shares some of her family's history.

A Picnic in October by Eve Bunting- Grandma is very insistent that her family travel to celebrate The Statue of Liberty's birthday.

The Magic School Bus: Builds The Statue of Liberty. A fun simple reader on Bartholdi's journey of building The Statue of Liberty.

The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus - the moving poem on the base of The Statue of Liberty.

ALONGSIDE ACTIVITY- consider making a birthday cake for the statue.

Spend some time sharing the history of the emigration of your ancestors with your kids. You can make this as big or little as you desire. Cook up national foods from your country of origin. Locate the country on a map.

Give your kids a visual of the size of the statue. How many of your houses stacked on top of each other equal her height?

Why is the statue green?