Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05  ·  rating details  ·  106 ratings  ·  43 reviews
Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free... Who wrote these words? And why? In 1883, Emma Lazarus, deeply moved by an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe, wrote a sonnet that was to give voice to the Statue of Liberty. Originally a gift from France to celebrate our shared national struggles for liberty, the Statue, thanks to Emma's po...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published April 5th 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (first published January 1st 2010)

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Lisa Vegan
Nov 25, 2011 Lisa Vegan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all who wanted to learn about the Statue of Liberty & Emma Lazarus, who enjoy great illustrations
Recommended to Lisa by: Kathryn
I knew nothing about Emma Lazarus before reading this book. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know (or remember) who composed the famous “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” poem. It was Emma.

I loved this book because between the book proper and the author’s note, this book covers her entire life. For many reasons she’s a woman to be emulated. I greatly admire here. Emma’s story, and the stories of the immigrants she cared about, are as inspirational as is the...more
Crista
2011 Jane Adams Award Winner

Based on a true story, this book tells of writer Emma Lazarus who is most famous for giving the Statue of Liberty her famous phrase back in 1883. Emma enjoyed working with the immigrants who came into our country through Ward’s Island. When the Statue was coming to America, Emma wrote a poem to help raise money for the pedestal. Today, that poem is just as famous as the statue itself. “Give me your tired…”

The colorful illustrations do an excellent job of depicting the...more
Savanah
Reading Level: Guided Reading: K (Lexile: 300-399)
Interest Level: K-3
Genre: Biography
Main Characters: Emma
Setting: New York, 1883
Point of View: Narrator
Award: Jane Addams

This is a really great story that tells the life of Emma Lazarus. She is introduced to the reader as a young Jewish girl who had a lot of everything; money, dresses, food, and love from her family. She loved to read and write and started spending most of her time creating stories and poems. For so many years of her life, all she...more
Daniela
Grade Level: K-3
Main Characters: Emma Lazarus
Setting: New York
POV: third person (verse)

Summary:
This is a story told in verse about the poet Emma Lazarus. The book starts with Emma as a little girl who "only knew people/who had plenty of everything". She thought everyone lived like her until she visits the New York Harbor, where she encounters impoverished and tired immigrants coming to the United States for freedom and a better life. When she is older she starts to help incoming immigrants by te...more
Veronica Diaz
Main Characters: Emma Lazarus
Setting: New York City
POV: Narrator
Grade Level: K-2nd
Reading Level: Fountas-Pinnell - M
Genre: Biography

This is a non-fictional book centered on Emma Lazarus. She is a famous author, who grew up around people who had a lot of things. Later in life, she was still around people who had a lot of things. Until one day she met immigrants that were poor and didn’t have the things that the rest of the people she knew had. She felt bad for them. They were Jewish, just like E...more
Widad Hussein
I couldn't find the lexile level for this book but it geared to students between K-2nd grade. The main character is Emma and it's written from the point of view of the statue. This takes place in New York. This book is about Emma Lazarus who comes from a wealthy Jewish family but despite the privileges she had, she wanted to be a voice for the immigrants who were coming in. Using her words of poetry, she began writing details of what she was seeing, how she was able to help out, and the things b...more
Laura
Emma Lazarus wrote the poem that most of us associate with the Statue of Liberty. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Raised as a privileged Jewish girl in New York City, Emma didn't know many immigrants or poor people. Exploring her city, she meets people from many backgrounds and reaches out, teaching immigrants English and helping them find education in their new country.

When the Statue of Liberty was brought to New York, poets and writers around th...more
Kathryn
A very fine biography of Emma Lazarus, who wrote "The New Colossus", the poem that helped the Statue of Liberty become more than just a gift of friendship and gratitude from France to the USA, but a symbol of hope and welcome to thousands of immigrants to her shores. Pleasantly told and easy enough for even young readers to follow, nevertheless this contains some fine information such as how upper-class women in Emma's time were not supposed to mingle with the lower classes--but Emma did, and sh...more
Margo Tanenbaum
Very nicely done picture book biography of Emma Lazarus, best known for writing the poem on the base of the Statue of Liberty that has become nearly as famous as the statue herself. We see Emma as a small child, with "plenty of everything," growing up in an environment of people who had "plenty of everything." We see her in her privileged setting, but then Emma visits Ward's Island and meets very poor immigrants, Jews like herself who had made the long, hard journey to America. Emma wants to hel...more
Leslie Morrison
This intimate, warm biography of Emma Lazarus shows clearly the obligation we all have to reach out and help others in any way we can. Emma uses her considerable talent for writing and speech-making to change the hearts and minds of the country, to help people better understand the challenges faced by immigrants from around the world. She cast the Statue of Liberty as a symbol for our spirit, in that we are obliged to not sit back and watch the less fortunate struggle. Instead, we must take acti...more
Liz Strode
Jane Addams Award Winner 2011

Themes: peace, equality, social justice, immigration, compassion, new beginnings, freedom, friendship of mankind

We have all heard the lines "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled massess..." and we have an understanding of the symbolic nature of the Statue of Liberty. But "Emma's Poem" is a biography of Emma Lazarus the wealthy Jewish girl from New York City who grew up to be a well-known writer. Glaser tells the story of a compassionate woman who is troubled...more
Alma
Glaser, Linda. Emma’s Poem, The Voice of the Statue of Liberty. Houghton Mifflin for Children. 2010. 32 pp. ISBN 0547171846. Genre: Historical Non-Fiction, Picture, Biography
Rating: 4.16 Stars. Emma Lazarus wants to help the immigrants and help raise money to bring the Statue of Liberty over here from France.

Summary: A look into how Emma Lazarus helps the immigrants, helps raise money to bring the Statue of Liberty over here from France, and how her poem becomes famous.

Main Characters: Emma Laz...more
Mary Hoch
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of yourteeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

These are words that greet the millions of people visiting the Statue of Liberty, thanks to Emma Lazarus. This book tells the story of how Emma came to create a voice for the statue through her poem, which was completed in 1883. Her poem, along with the work of other writers, was used to raise...more
Holly Brown
This book is about Emma Lazarus, a poet and author. One day, she met some immigrants and saw how they were struggling in this new place. She wanted to help them. She also heard about the Statue of Liberty coming over from France, and she wrote a poem that gave the Statue of Liberty a voice.

This book is a great biography. It tells the story of Emma Lazarus and the Statue of Liberty in an entertaining way.

I would use this book in my classroom in order to inform my students about how the Statue of...more
Melissa
Really well done. Great arc from Emma's childhood (with "plenty of everything") to her dawning awareness of immigrant poverty and how it led to her activism, and how her activism led to the opportunity to write this poem, and then to the lasting effect of the poem.

I also liked Glaser's portrayal of the creative process: how do you come up with an idea for a poem? ("At that time, the Statue of Liberty had nothing to do with immigrants. But Emma knew that immigrants would see the huge woman when...more
Kate Hastings
May 09, 2010 Kate Hastings rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Grades 2-7 immigration nonfiction tolerance national symbols patriotic
THIS WAS AN AMAZING BOOK! When the Statue of Liberty was being built, it was in no way related to immigration. Emma Lazarus, a wealthy woman in New York city, worked with immigrants in a city/culture that generally ignored and loathed immigrants that would bring the country down. To raise money for the statue's pedestal, she was asked to write a poem. And that is where, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." came from. It will give you chills!

Use for a u...more
Becky
Recommended by Kate H. Wow!! I'm sad to say I never knew or already forgot that the Statue of Liberty originally had nothing to do with immigrants. Writer Emma Lazarus was asked to contribute to a compilation of writings to raise money for the statue's pedestal. Knowing where the statue would be placed, and of the immigrants' long journey, poverty, and often cold welcome in the U.S., she composed "The New Colossus," which concludes with the famous "give me your tired, your poor" lines, and helpe...more
Amianne Bailey
6th Grade Read-Aloud/Research Lesson: Perfect book for "Freedom Week." We took a little quiz on American Landmarks and then narrowed our focus on the Statue of Liberty. We wrote down questions that we wanted to know, and then read this books to see if we could find some facts. I touched on Wikipedia and we did a note-taking activity while I read the book. A great lesson and the kids want to know more about the Statue of Liberty and Emma Lazarus.
Diana Hanke
This simply told story explains how a young girl from an affluent background developed into a champion for the immigrant. The far-reaching affect and creation of the symbol and voice associated with the Statue of Liberty is explained. Emma Lazarus created that voice through her poetry and the message has resonated since its inception. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
Joan Gagan
This is a very simple introduction to a poet's most famous work. She wrote the famous poem inside Lady Liberty. It talks about her compassion for the poor, especially poor immigrants. At the end of the book is the poem she is known for. This would be a great read aloud for young elementary children for either poetry month or a patriotic holiday like the Fourth of July.
Rebecca Martin
This book would be great to read when learning about the Statue of Liberty and immigration. The teacher can bring real picture of the State to show the students. The students can discuss what they know about immigration. The teacher can ask them: How they would feel if they were an immigrant in 1883? What would your life be like? How are immigrants treated today?
Lauren Stoolfire
This picture book remembers Emma Lazarus as a child that wanted to help immigrants to America who as an adult wrote a poem about what the Statue of Liberty means. The illustrations seem to be a combination of folk art style and cartoon style. For children, a craft could be coloring the statue and writing for what freedom they are most glad in their lives.
Karen Arendt
Another perspective for the Statue of Liberty. This book tells about Emma Lazarus, a writer who wrote a poem to raise money to build the pedestal for the statue. Her poem moved people enough for the poem to be engraved onto a plaque and placed on the Statue of Liberty many years after Emma's death.
Kristine
This is a book aimed at children ages 5 and up. It keeps attention by describing how the Statue of Liberty came about and what Emma's Poem is and where it is located. This may hit home to some recent student immigrants where they could share their own experiences. Jane Addams Award Book
Pam
Having many sets of immigrant ancestors, I have always identified with Emma Lazarus' words "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free..." This book does an excellent job introducing us to the woman who wrote these familiar words.
Beth
Emma grew up with love and money. This was all she knew until she visited Ward's Island. She helps immigrants learn English. Her poem, "The New Colossus," was the only poem read from the money raising contest involving well know writers of the time.
Gaby Roman
This was a great book for fifth grade students. I would use this book to introduce The Statue of liberty. I would also have my students create their own poem about The Statue of liberty. We would share it with our peers.
Amanda
While this was really interesting from an historical standpoint, I didn't think it read well as a picture book. I'm glad the entire poem was shown in the endpapers because just repeating the 3rd line was getting boring.
Katherine
Audience: Kindergarten and up, Anyone who lives in the USA

Appeal: Quick meaningful read, Colorful pictures, a concept of humanity that read of all ages will understand

Award: Sydney Taylor Award Winner- 2011
Amy
Reading Rainbow: Watch the Stars Come Out.
I loved the illustrations.
The biography was well done but the poem itself was really above Bea's comprehension. Oh well, we all really just know those two lines.
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Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty (Kindle Edition)
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