The Statue of Liberty for Young Readers
Learn the exciting true story of how a big idea at a dinner party in France turned into the world’s most famous statue!
Follow the artist who dreamed of a giant lady with a glowing torch, the schoolchildren who raised money, and the friendly gift that sailed across the ocean to welcome everyone to America.
Discover why her torch shines for freedom and why she still stands tall in New York Harbor today!
Long ago, a French professor named Laboulaye had a wonderful idea at a dinner party: France should give America a special gift to celebrate freedom and friendship. An artist who loved making giant statues, Bartholdi, decided the gift should be a huge statue of Liberty holding a torch.
He sailed to America, spotted the perfect island in New York Harbor, and began building the statue in pieces back in Paris. French schoolchildren helped raise money, the torch visited Philadelphia for America’s 100th birthday, and a poet named Emma Lazarus wrote a welcoming poem.
After years of hard work, the statue was packed into 210 boxes, shipped across the ocean, and carefully put back together. On a joyful day filled with parades and celebrations, Liberty Enlightening the World was revealed. Her torch lights the way to freedom, her crown’s seven rays reach the whole world, the tablet in her hand remembers America’s birthday, and the broken chains at her feet show that slavery is gone.
Every Fourth of July, fireworks light up the sky around her—reminding us that friendship, hard work, and big dreams can create something beautiful that lasts forever.
