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.

Listeners begin their journey by learning about how the French built the Statue of Liberty and then gave it to the United States. Almost halfway through the story, a new narrative begins as the focus shifts to "her right foot" and the author asks listeners to think about why Lady Liberty appears to be in motion, where she is going, and the connection these details have with welcoming immigrants from around the world to America. Narrator Dion Graham connects with listeners by using an inquisitive tone that encourages reflection. Listeners will be intrigued by the little-known facts sprinkled throughout the story, but what makes this work stand apart is when this iconic landmark becomes a symbolic figure for all those Emma Lazarus wrote about in her renowned poem "The New Colossus." M.D. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine