Skating with the Statue of Liberty by Susan Lynn Meyer

Author:Susan Lynn Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2016-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

21

“I just don’t know who to do this stupid history report on,” Gustave said as he carried the soup to the table.

“Does it have to be someone American?” Maman asked, ladling the soup into three bowls.

“No. Anyone in the world. Any historical figure you admire. A lot of kids are doing athletes and stuff.”

“That’s a funny kind of historical figure! You should do someone more significant. How about Napoleon?” Papa took his bowl of lentil and potato soup from Maman. “You used to have a book about him, I remember.”

“Yeah, when we lived in Paris. Maybe I could do it on him. I’d have to find some new books.”

“Or what about Joan of Arc?” Maman asked. “You could teach those American kids about the important Frenchwoman their school is named after.”

“I don’t know. They might think I was showing off about France or something.” Gustave blew on his soup too hard to cool it, and some spilled out the other side of the bowl.

“Careful!” Maman said, mopping it up. “Well, I think you should do it on someone from France so you already know something about the topic, don’t you? That will make reading the books in English easier.”

Papa broke off a piece of bread and handed the loaf to Maman. “What about the man who designed the Statue of Liberty? Do these American kids know she was a gift from France? What was his name, Lili?”

“Bartholdi. Or what about Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower?”

“I just don’t want to give a speech in English, with everybody listening and looking at me.” And wearing weird French pants, Gustave thought. So far he had been able to save sixty cents from his earnings and tips, but that was a long way from the two dollars the pants cost at Mr. Quong’s. He stirred his soup vigorously.

“I know you can do a good job, Gustave,” Papa said. “Just memorize the speech ahead of time and then deliver it.”

“We’re amazed when we hear you speaking English now,” Maman said. “And you understand the radio broadcasts so well. I was telling our night-school teacher, Mrs. Szabo, about it, and she says to be patient, because grown-ups learn so much more slowly.”

“Ah, to be young!” Papa said, ruffling his hair.

“Huh. That’s what you think,” Gustave said. “If you were young, you’d have to do an oral report.”

Maman giggled as she cleared away the soup bowls. “Ai-yai-yai, what a disaster that would be! Who’s ready for some dessert?”

Gustave peered at the bowl of fruit salad Maman handed to him. These days Maman had a new trick: she’d buy cheap pieces of old fruit that they were going to throw out in the markets, and she’d use the good bits to make fruit salad. Too often he had spooned up mealy apple or orange pieces going sour. Today it looked all right. He took a bite.

“I need to talk to you about something else,” he said.

“That sounds serious!” said Papa.

“It is. One day when I came home, I saw that your New American book was open to the citizenship questions.

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