Skating With the Statue of Liberty

In this gripping and poignant companion to Sydney Taylor Honor Award winnerBlack Radishes, Gustave faces racism and anti-Semitism in New York City during World War II, but ultimately finds friendship and hope.

It is January 1942, and Gustave, a twelve-year-old Jewish boy, has made it to America at last. After escaping with his family from Nazi-occupied France, after traveling through Spain and Portugal and across the Atlantic Ocean, he no longer has to worry about being captured by the Germans. But life is not easy in America, either.

Gustave feels out of place in New York. His clothes are all wrong, he can barely speak English, and he is worried about his best friend, Marcel, who is in grave danger back in France. Then there is September Rose, the most interesting girl in school, who for some reason doesn’t seem to want to be friends with him. Gustave is starting to notice that not everyone in America is treated equally, and his new country isn’t everything he’d expected. But he isn’t giving up.

Skating with the Statue of Liberty, the brilliant companion to Susan Lynn Meyer’s debut novel,Black Radishes, was inspired by her father’s stories about his first months in America. It is a gripping look at one boy’s life that is at once honest and hopeful.

Praise for Black Radishes

A Sydney Taylor Honor Award Winner
A Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year
An Instructor Magazine Best Kids’ Book, Historical Fiction
A Massachusetts Book Award Must-Read Book

“An empowering, suspenseful story of a unique young boy with cunning, patience, and courage.” —Francisco X. Stork, author ofMarcelo in the Real World

“A fascinating, deftly gripping tale that reminds readers, young or old, of events we must never forget.” —Zilpha Keatley Snyder, three-time Newbery Honor winner and author ofThe Egypt Game

“A vivid and moving story about a Jewish family’s efforts to escape the Nazis, seen through the eyes of a clear-signed and sensitive young boy.” —Annika Thor, winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award

“Black Radishes transforms the past into a gripping story.” —Kit Pearson, winner of the Governor General’s Award forAwake and Dreaming

Susan Lynn Meyer's Skating with the Statue of Liberty is the companion to her debut novel,Black Radishes, which won a Sydney Taylor Honor Award and was named a Massachusetts Book Award finalist and a Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year. Both books were inspired by stories she grew up hearing about her father's childhood escape from Nazi-occupied France and his early years in New York City. She lives with her family in Massachusetts and teaches literature and creative writing at Wellesley College. Visit her online at susanlynnmeyer.com.