Traces the history of the Liberty Bell from its original casting in England to its home in Philadelphia to present day.

Do you know when the Liberty Bell was rung for the last time? Or why it has a huge crack? Join Mr. Chen's class as they take a field trip to find out the facts about this important US symbol. Ranger Marcela explains who made the Liberty Bell, what words appear on it, and how it got its name.

Some tall tales are actually true. This is a grand one, told with rightful pride by a boy who was there in the city of Philadelphia in 1777 and was lucky enough to play a role in the American Revolution. John Jacob Mickley, eleven years old, and his father were in the city when the Great Bell began ringing Brong! Brong! BRONG! from atop the State House to warn the citizens: "Redcoats! The Redcoats are coming!" And come the British did -- with their muskets and their cannons and their will to keep the colonies for their king. Looting they came and stealing any metal they could get their hands on to melt down for the making of more weapons. And the prize above all? The Great Bell itself -- metal for many a cannon! But the clever Pensylvanians (yes, the word was spelled like that then) had other plans for keeping the Bell safe from the British. Megan McDonald has aptly caught John Jacob's excited retelling of the story, and Marsha Gray Carrington has relished every wild and wooly moment of it in her pictures -- both funny and carefully researched.

"Developed by literacy experts for students in kindergarten through grade three, this book introduces the Liberty Bell to young readers through leveled text and related photos"--

"Who put that giant crack in the Liberty Bell? Would you believe it happened all by itself? Have you ever wondered who was invited to the Boston Tea Party? Well, it wasn't really a party at all! And why do we celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks every summer? This book will answer all kinds of questions about the American Revolution!"--page [4] of cover.

CD-ROM contains technical drawings and the recovery operations log.