Lily and Miss Liberty

by Carla Stevens, Deborah Kogan Ray (Illustrations)

Miss Liberty is sailing across the sea, she is a present from France, now the Amercans must raise enough money to give her a place to stand when she arrives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, American History, School, Picture Books, Childrens

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't very impressed with the book. It felt very modern to be covering such an historic time; more like "twaddle" than a quality read.

Take a look at Statue of Liberty books I do recommend!

Ages: 5 - 10

Content Considerations: a girl gets picked on and lies - the two become friends later. The mother and father disagree about the importance of the Statue of Liberty which causes some little rifts in the home and with the girl at school.

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[elisabeth ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/several: must add the books I read to my class. My reading challenge has been suffering.

Actually really cute, and brings in some moral lessons, and provides some great opportunities for discussions and introductions into various Statue of Liberty topics. I really let this book introduce many of concepts I taught my first grade class and at the end of our unit, we even made paper crowns like Lily did. I would definitely read this to my class again.

[Galion Public Library Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by M.T.: "Lily has to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty for her class fundraiser. She decides to make crowns like the Statue of Liberty to sell. She gets them advertised in the newspaper, and eventually, she can see the Statue of Liberty."

[Emily Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child! I found my copy recently and decided to reread it. And all the charm is still there! I now want to find a documentary and photos about the Statue of Liberty's arrival, building, and opening.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was terrible it was terrible it was terrible it was just terrible

[J.]

AR 3.6

[Mary Burkholder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun elementary look at how the United States got the Statue of Liberty.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Miss Liberty is sailing across the sea,
A present from France to you and me,
The boat that brings her will soon reach
Our land,
But we can’t see her ‘til she has a place to stand.”
The Statue of Liberty is arriving from France! France is giving the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. as a gift. But, she needs a pedestal to stand on. The entire city of New York is trying to raise money. It’s a time of struggling for many of the people, especially those that are immigrants. Lily Lafferty wants to donate to the fund her class is raising for the pedestal. Mrs. Lafferty thinks the money should be raised to feed the poor not build a pedestal for Miss Liberty. Lily finds out that she will have to work really hard to find a way to make money. With an idea from her grandmother she makes yellow crowns to sale. She also discovers that there are really those who are poor and need help as well. Lily lives in a time of horses and buggies, horse-drawn road sprinklers, a flag with only 37 stars and Grover Cleveland is President of the United States. Bedloe Island is where the Statue is going. When the French ship Isere pulls in on June 19, 1885, Lily is there yelling “Bonjour” and singing “Yankee Doodle” to welcome her.

[Books Kids Like · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Liberty, France's gift to America, is on her way across the ocean. The children of New York City raise money to pay for her pedestal just as the children of France helped pay for Miss Liberty herself. Lily's family is poor and unable to give her any money to contribute. Undaunted, Lily designs and makes Miss Liberty crowns from heavy yellow paper. Her friend, Rachel, helps her sell them, and they proudly present their earnings to their teacher, Miss Pearson. Soon the day comes that Miss Liberty arrives. Lily's father has three tickets to board the Knickerbocker Ice Cream Company's boat so that they can see the French ship, Isere, as it enters the harbor. Lily, her father, and Rachel all go to see Miss Liberty arrive in her new home. This sweet tale gives young readers insight into the excitement felt by New Yorkers as they anticipated Miss Liberty’s arrival. Lily represents all of the children of New York who worked hard to pay for the statue’s pedestal.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very enjoyable. One thing that I learned reading this is that the United States had to pay for the pedestal that the Statue of Liberty sits on. I did not know this, though I did know that it was a gift from France. I like that this event in history is told from the perspective of a child because I could really feel how excited she was about Miss Liberty and watching her come into her town. I also think it presents a great lesson for children as well; if they want something bad enough or want to help someone, they need to try to raise money or save their money for it. I also think a great element of this book is the fact that it put the directions in the back to make the crowns that Lily made in the story. I think it would be a great project to do in school after reading the story.

[Kelly Powell]

This book is a fun story to read telling how a family may have felt when France gave the United States the statue of liberty. I think it is important that this book show that spouses not always agree with their feelings towards the statue. . I enjoyed that Lily the main character wanted to help raise money for the platform that Miss Liberty would stand on and how she created something to raise the money. I loved that the back of the book gave instructions on how to make the crown if you wanted to replicate

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 3-5 58 pgs

1885 NYC. 8 year old Lily Lafferty's is very excited about France sending the Statue of Liberty to the United States. Her class is helping raise money to build a pedestal for the statue to stand on. Lily doesn't want to be the only one without any money to donate. What can she do to convince her neighbors to help her?

Nice story about the arrival of the Statue of Liberty and various people's reaction to it and the issue of raising money for the pedestal.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be a great history lesson about lady liberty. Most people are unaware that we got the statue from France. Not only are they unaware that we got it from
France, but they also don't know that we had to raise money to get the stand that she stands on. I think my students would enjoy reading this book.

[Marissa Pezzullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily and miss liberty is about a little girl who takes it upon herself to help raise money to pay for the platform for the statue of liberty. So she makes liberty crowns and sells them for 5 Cents a piece. You could use this book not only to talk about the statue of liberty but also to talk about a sense of responsibility and how to raise money for a good cause.

[Jane Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously for very young readers - 1st-3rd graders - but the lesson of cooperation applies to every and all age groups since some adults still don't know how to do a kind act and worse yet to do it quietly and without applause.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice to know that people were willing to work for the greater Good.

[Stephanie Guthrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is great for students who are learning about the history of The Statue of Liberty! It also teaches students to never give up on things that they love and sharing with others!

[Debby Baumgartner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily is excited about miss liberty arriving in New York harbor. She makes paper crowns and sells them to help raise money for the pedestal.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story :) Great for discussion, guided reading

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a young girl's determination to help raise money for the base of the Statue of Liberty.
I'm donating it to my classroom.