Publisher’s Story Summary: Susan Olson, second-grade treasurer and reporter, here dutifully records the comical details that surround this adventurous tale under the headings, "Expenses" and "Profit." Spurred on by a desire to visit the Statue of Liberty, the class tries to earn money for the trip by collecting paper, running a lemonade stand, sitting babies, walking dogs, and selling candy.

Reviews
"Written in the style of a treasurer's report, this hilarious picture book details the trials and triumphs of a group of children attempting to raise money for a trip to the Statue of Liberty. . . . Slavin's expressive, watercolor-and-ink illustrations mesh perfectly with Zimelman's deadpan text. A great choice for read-alouds, this will also make an excellent introduction to primary units on money." Booklist

LESSON: How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty

Lesson Summary

The second grade class makes several attempts to earn enough money to visit the Statue of Liberty. The report includes the expenses, income, and profit of each business venture.

Concept: Profit

Definition: Profit is the difference between the money people make when they produce and sell a good or service and all their costs of production.

Comprehension Questions

What sales revenues were earned from the paper drive?
$30 paid by Mr. Abner Carmody, recycler of everything

What were the expenses?
$2 paid to five younger brothers and sisters to borrow their wagons;
$10 to Mr. Abner Carmody, recycler, to get back Johnny Paine's father's comic book collection;
$5 for a parking ticket

What was the profit?
$13

Describe each attempt the children made to make a good profit.

• lemonade stand:
  expenses - none, everything was donated;
  profit - none, due to a catastrophe which caused the lemonade to have to be poured out before opening the business;
  income - $10 donated by Mr. Norbert Norvill
• baby-sitting and dog-walking:
  expenses and profit - no;
  nobody trusts a second grader to baby-sit;
  all the dogs walk each other
• candy sales:
  expenses - no charge for 3 lbs of chocolate fudge, $1 for one box of aluminum foil but this was refunded when not needed;
  income - $7.50;
  profit - $7.50)
• car wash:
  expenses - $25, no charge for 3 boxes of detergent received in trade, $5 paid to Mr. William W. Williams for the use of the empty service island, $20 for sponges, towels, and buckets;
  income - $8,200 received in reward money from the bank;
  profit - $8,175

Explain how the children determined their profit.
Income - Expenses = Profit

Identify the most profitable activity.
The car wash - what started out as a disaster when Mr. Hope's car went through the bank windows resulted in bank robbers being caught. The reward from the bank helped the car wash to be a very profitable activity. Note: Some students may say the most profitable activity was when the parents got together and collected enough money for the trip since it would take forever to get the reward money. This was not an activity performed by the students.

Other Concepts: Income, Expenses, Production 

  Profit