The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein

(Caldecott Medal)

This book, written by Mordecai Gerstein, is a true story about a tightrope walker named Phillipe Petit who walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. 
At the conclusion of the book, Gerstein says the towers are gone, but Petit's tightrope walk is part of the memories we have of the Twin Towers as U.S. citizens.  I was a freshman in college on September 11, 2001, so the events that took place that day were replaying in my mind while I was reading.  Directly after finishing the book, I will admit that I didn't particularly like the book because it seemed to end so abruptly.  Then, I thought that Gerstein could possibly be giving the reader time to reflect on the events of 9/11 and what they mean to us as a nation. After taking time to reflect on the book for some time, I value the book for its historical value and can see myself using the book in my classroom for 9/11 activities.