Karen's Book Nook

I’m always adding to my classroom library with medal winners and during our book fair I picked up The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein,  2004 Caldecott Medal winner.

About the book: This effectively spare, lyrical account chronicles Philippe Petit’s tight rope walk between Manhattan’s World Trade Center towers in 1974. Gerstein (What Charlie Heard) begins the book like a fairytale, “Once there were two towers side by side. They were each a quarter of a mile high… The tallest buildings in New York City.” The author casts the French aerialist and street performer as the hero: “A young man saw them rise into the sky…. He loved to walk and dance on a rope he tied between two trees.” As the man makes his way across the rope from one tree to the other, the towers loom in the background. When Philippe gazes at the twin buildings, he looks “not at the towers but at the space between them…. What a wonderful place to stretch a rope; a wire on which to walk.”

My thoughts: Beautifully illustrated and deserving of the medal, it was a nice story to read to my students which sparked conversation and questions. It was a natural way to discuss the Twin Towers in another light. It was an inspiring story of determination as well.  I’m sure that this will be a book that will get a lot of use in my classroom library.

Part of:  100 Book Challenge,