Her Right Foot

Starred review from September 25, 2017
The history of the Statue of Liberty is well-known: Frenchman Édouard de Laboulaye conceived of the idea of a monument for the United States’s centennial and persuaded artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi to design it. Eggers starts his own story of the statue slowly, playfully (“Did you know that the Statue of Liberty comes from France? This is true. This is a factual book”). Newcomer Harris’s friendly cut-paper spreads show the colossal statue looming over the men who build it. After detailing Liberty’s installation in New York, where it welcomed waves of immigrants, Eggers makes a startling observation: the statue’s right foot is raised: “She is on the move!” And why is this? “Liberty and freedom from oppression are not things you get or grant by standing around,” Eggers asserts. “These are things that require action. Courage. An unwillingness to rest.” Harris represents Americans of all colors—veiled, in hardhats, in yarmulkes, in hoodies—talking together, admiring the statue, becoming citizens. Eggers’s crucial and timely re-examination makes Liberty an active participant in a debate that is more contentious than ever. Ages 5–8.

Starred review from September 1, 2017

Gr 3 Up-This beautifully designed and conversational yet sophisticated book about the history of the iconic statue is also filled with humor and interesting trivia. Explanations of the construction, size, and eventual color of the statue are explained and illustrated in simple, accessible terms. While the first two-thirds of the book offer information about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the green giant, the final portion is a more editorialized, poetic discussion of the back of her right foot. "She is going somewhere! She is on the move!...she weighs 450,000 pounds, and she is moving...where is she going?" Apparently not to "Soho to get a panini" nor "to the West Village to look for vintage Nico records." No, this welcoming lady has loftier goals. Though she has already greeted thousands of Poles, Norwegians, Cambodians, Estonians, Somalis, Syrians, and others, "It never ends. It cannot end. And this is why she's moving. This is why she's striding. In welcoming the poor, the tired, the struggling to be free. She is not content to wait. She must meet them in the sea." Harris's vibrant impressionistic illustrations, rendered in construction paper collage and india ink, offer thought-provoking, varied perspectives on both the statue and the text. The unpaged tribute is far longer than the usual picture book length of 32 pages, but never wordy. VERDICT A unique and important contribution to be enjoyed by both children and adults; a must-purchase.-Barbara Auerbach, formerly at New York City Public Schools

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2017
Everyone knows what the Statue of Liberty stands for--but, as Eggers notes, she's not actually "standing" at all. Taking his time, as usual, at getting to the point, Eggers opens with the often told tale of the monument's origins, preliminary construction, deconstruction, and shipping to "a city called New York, which is in a state also called New York." He describes the statue's main features, from crown to gown ("a very heavy kind of garment," likely to cause "serious lower back issues")--and points out that her right heel is not planted but lifted. What does this signify? That ."..she is walking! This 150 foot woman is on the go!" She's stepping out into the harbor, he suggests, to give new arrivals from Italy and Norway, Cambodia and Estonia, Syrians, Liberians, and all who have or will come an eager welcome. After all, he writes, she's an immigrant too, and: "She is not content to wait." In Harris' ink-and-construction-paper collages, Parisian street scenes give way to close-up views of the brown (later green) ambulatory statue, alternating with galleries of those arrivals and their descendants, who are all united in their very diversity of age, sex, dress, and skin color. Photos, including one of the Emma Lazarus poem, cap this urgent defense of our "Golden Door." Occasionally mannered but heartfelt throughout and indisputably timely. (bibliography, source list) (Picture book. 9-13, adult)

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Starred review from September 1, 2017
Grades 1-3 *Starred Review* She's quite a lady, that Statue of Liberty, and here, in sprightly text and pictures, is all you ever wanted to know about her (and perhaps a bit more). She came to us as a gift from France in 1885, to retrospectively celebrate our country's centennial. She was a prodigious gift, standing 305 feet above the water and weighing 450,000 pounds, and came in 214 massive parts to be assembled into America's largest sculpture. So far, so predictable, but here's where it goes offbeat. Eggers' focus is not on the torch or the seven-spiked crown or any other customary feature; instead, he focuses on her right foot, which, with its heel lifted off the ground, is caught in midstride. Yes, the statue is walking somewhere. Eggers has his own theory as to where and why (spoiler alert: it has to do with liberty and freedom). The author's informal, good-humored text is expanded by Harris' cut-paper and ink pictures, which range in size from sketches to double-page spreads. In a time when immigration is a hot-button issue, it's good to be reminded that Lady Liberty continues to lift her lamp beside the golden door.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)