Book of the week: Her Right Foot, a visual read about the Statue of Liberty

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Published on Saturday, 18 November 2017 11:03

Last Updated on 16 November 2017

Monica Costa

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The Statue of Liberty is the star of a new children’s picture book called Her Right Foot written by Dave Eggers and illustrated by Shawn Harris.

Undoubtedly The Statue of Liberty is the most famous statue of all time. In fact if you ask anybody to name any statue, the odds are good they’d mention the Statue of Liberty. I have seen her (yes, for me it is a she, a real lady) already a couple of times when visiting New York. She is stunning and majestic, standing there holding a torch and a book while taking one step forward. But why (I have always wondered)?

 

In this fascinating, fun take on non-fiction, Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris investigate a seemingly small trait of America’s most emblematic statue. What they find in the Statue of Liberty’s right foot is the powerful message of acceptance that is essential to an entire country’s creation.

It is a brilliant book for children to find out about the world we live in starting from an iconic monument. It gives lots of not very well known facts about the Statue of Liberty in conversational and humorous language that speaks to readers of all ages:

1. The statue was first assembled in France and stood over Paris for about a year;

 

2. It statue was shipped to the U. S. from France in 214 boxes;

3. Once a group of writers ate lunch below her  knee;

4. The statue was brown for 35 years until the copper oxidised and turned the statue green in the 1920s;

5. It stands as symbol for freedom, and serves as a welcome to all.

6. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed Lady Liberty with her right heel up: The Statue of Liberty is meant to be walking. The interior of the statue was designed by Gustave Eiffel (the architect who built the Eiffel Tower).

 

7. The Statue of Liberty has been a resident of New York for over 130 years;

8. The final, full size version was covered with a thin copper skin. The skin is about as thick as two pennies (extract from the book).

 

9. The book she’s carrying has an important inscription: it features the date, 4 July 1776, on which the Declaration of Independence was signed.

10. The seven spikes on her crown represent the seven seas on Earth, and the seven continents, and the sun’s rays.

 

11. The Statue of Liberty  is on the move and Her Right Foot is about the journey to discover why she’s on the move.

 

This book couldn’t have come at a better time now that immigration is a political hot topic all around the world.

 

Watch this lovely video about how this nook was born.

Hardcover picture book, £14.99

This book makes me want to go back to see the Statue of Liberty again.

 

Read my feature about travelling to New York City.

 

 

If you enjoyed this review and love the world of storytelling, visit London Mums books section. More New York themed books here: 

Holiday Activity Books: My New York by Majel van der Meulen

 

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