Sweet Land of Liberty (Ellis the Elephant, #1)

by Callista Gingrich

Susan Arciero (Illustrator)

How did America become the land of the free?

In Sweet Land of Liberty, Ellis the Elephant sets off on a quest to find out.

Through an amazing afternoon at the library, Ellis travels through time and discovers the pivotal moments that have shaped our nation’s unique history, including,

• 
  
• the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving
  
• the Boston Tea Party
  
• George Washington crossing the Delaware
  
• pioneers settling the great frontier
  
• the first man on the moon

and many more of the astounding events and people whose dreams, courage, and hard work have made America great.

With its vivid illustrations and charming rhymes, Sweet Land of Liberty is a must read for children and parents alike who want to explore our nation’s great history—and discover why America is a free and exceptional nation.

• ISBN10: 1596982926
• ISBN13: 9781596982925
• Publish Date: 13 October 2011 (first published 27 September 2011)
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Out of Print: 20 July 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Regnery Publishing Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 28
• Language: English

Reviews

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

I picked up this book primarily because I love elephants, but one should note that Ellis's being an elephant is generally irrelevant. The book could have easily feature a monkey, a rabbit, or a small child and nothing would have changed.

That aside, the book does a good job of highlighting some key historical events in American history, but the focus is definitely on early American history: the first Thanksgiving, the Boston Tea Party, the Declaration of Independence, and Washington's crossing the Delaware. There are mentions of Lincoln and the first man on the moon, as well a general allusion to later wars (with a picture of the Iwo Jima Memorial), but the book seems unbalanced since half is about the events surround the Revolution and the other half attempts to cover the rest of America's 200 year history. Also, since each event only gets a page, I think young readers who are not already familiar with American history might just be confused since nothing is really explained.

The writing is a little painful, since the book rhymes but does not have any meter (a common mistake in picture books--either write actual poetry or don't rhyme, please!). Also, some words are clearly included primarily because they rhyme, not because they make sense in context.

A cute idea, with adorable pictures, but this book could have been better executed.