What Is the Statue of Liberty?

by Joan Holub, Who HQ, John Hinderliter (Illustrator)

Overview

In 1876, France decided to give the United States a very big and very special present--the Statue of Liberty. The gift was to commemorate the 100th birthday of the United States, and just packing it was no small feat--350 pieces in 214 crates shipped across the ocean. The story of how the 111-foot-tall lady took her place in the New York Harbor will fascinate young readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698171930
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/29/2014
Series:	What Was? Series
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
Lexile:	880L (what's this?)
File size:	54 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Joan Holub is the author of What Was the First Thanksgiving?, What Was the Gold Rush?, and other Who Was...? titles, including Who Was Marco Polo? and Who Was Babe Ruth? She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Read an Excerpt

What Is the Statue of Liberty?

In July 1976, the United States had a holiday. It was the two-hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. All over the country, towns and cities celebrated. In New York City, there were fireworks, parades, and patriotic speeches. Right in the middle of it all stood that towering symbol of American freedom—the Statue of Liberty!

The statue’s real name is Liberty Enlightening the World, but it’s often called Lady Liberty or the Statue of Liberty. The statue is huge—151 feet and 1 inch tall. That’s about as tall as a tower of thirty-five eleven-year-old kids stacked head-to-toe.

It’s made of copper and is mostly hollow, with a metal skeleton-like support structure inside and stairs so visitors can walk up into its crown. Today about four million people visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island every year.