Module 3: Caldecott Winners

"He could feel the towers breathing. He was not afraid. He felt alone and happy and absolutely free". 

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, Mordecai Gerstein

Book Summary: 
Philippe Petit was a street performer. He did tricks and rode his unicycle on the streets of New York City, but his favorite thing to do was walk a tightrope tied between two trees. He had been performing in central park, but one day he looked up and saw the Twin Towers. He thought to himself they would be perfect to walk across on a high wire. After all, he already had walked between the two spires of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

It took six years to plan the stunt. When the day finally came, he walked out on the high wire, did a little dance and even laid down on the wire. He stayed on the wire for over an hour and when he walked back to the opposite building he was arrested. When his case came to trial, the judge laughed and ordered him to perform in the park for children and never to walk between the twin towers again. The towers are no longer there, but this book and now a movie are a testament about the towers and once they were not just two buildings that were destroyed by terrorists on September 11, 2001.

Reference: 
Gerstein, M. (2003). The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Brookfield, Connecticut, Millbrook Press.

Impressions: A wonderfully illustrated book that tells the true story of the historic walk by Philippe Petit, the man who walked between the Twin Towers in New York City on August 7, 1974. I had no knowledge of this before I read this book. I was excited to do research and found it had recently been made into a movie. 

In 1974, the Twin Towers were just being completed and seen a symbol of America's strength and wealth. Today they are seen as a symbol of sorrow, hate and terror. I liked this book because it is a wonderful way to remember that the twin towers were something other than two building destroyed by terrorists.This book won a Caldecott award in 2004 and the movie version released on September 30, 2015.

                            

Professional Review:
After the events of September 11, there was an odd movement on behalf of the children's book publishers to explain the event in picture book form for the benefit of the little ones. Some of these attempts verged on the callous (paper cut airplanes flying into paper cut buildings) while others were nice thoughts but ultimately raised more questions than they answered ("Fireboat," for example). In the case of Mr. Mordicai Gerstein, however, a happy medium was reached. Here is a book that is all about the Twin Towers, but it does not linger on their fate. A mere two years after the events of 9/11, this book is an eloquent and elegant elegy to a moment when the Twin Towers helped to bring the world a lot of wonders and joy.

The story is based on the true tale of one Philippe Petit. A French aerialist, Petit was adept at juggling, unicycle riding, and (as it happened) tightrope walking. When construction finished on the Twin Towers in 1974, Petit happened upon the crazy notion of walking between them. The man was no stranger to such a stunt. He had, after all, walked between the towers of the Notre Dame Cathedral back in his native France. After asking the Tower's owners for permission, his request was quickly declined. To be allowed would fly in the face of a million safety regulations, after all. The quick thinking Petit reasoned that all that was left was to go ahead and do it anyway. Involving some friends, a construction disguise, and a four hundred and forty-pound reel of cable, Petit successfully made it to the roof of one tower in the night and connected the line between the towers with help. Then, as the dawn broke, he did his famous walk across. Once finished, the judge sentenced Petit to perform for the children of the park as his penance; a punishment the artist suffered gladly. The book concludes the story on a wistful note. We view the space where once the towers stood and read, "Now the towers are gone". A ghost of the Two appears on the next page, and the book says, "But in memory as if imprinted on the sky, the towers are still there. And part of that memory is the joyful morning, August 7, 1974 when Philippe Petit walked between them in the air".

What Gerstein has done is give us a memory of the Twin Towers that is a good and joyful one. This is no mean task, especially when you consider the horrors that were to follow. I've heard an interesting assortment of objections to the book in my time. Some people argue that no book about the Twin Towers is appropriate for children, whether the book concentrates on 9/11 or not. Such sentiments are silly. You can't ignore the past and, when done tastefully, a book about a significant event can teach more to children than a lesson plan could ever hope to. Other objections say that the book glorifies a silly stunt. Considering the fact that Petit was well trained, took all the necessary precautions, and did what he did for the love of his art, this objection is petty at best. Some say that this is not Gerstein's strongest work and that he should have won the Caldecott for another book instead. I have not read other Gerstein creations, so my experience is (like that of the Caldecott committee) limited to only his most recent creation. But to say this book is not medal worthy is patently ridiculous. Just at a glance at the book is enough to tell you that.

Look with me. The text is not only true, it is respectful. What I'm about to write here is second-hand knowledge garnered from a children's literature listserv, so I can't vouch that what I'm about to say is true. However, I believe that before this book was published Philippe Petit knew that it was being written and requested a look at the galleys prior to publication (not a ridiculous desire considering he was the book's star and hero). Such a look was not granted but just after publication Petit was allowed a copy of the story and he greatly approved of it. The only correction he wished to make was the section discussing the thickness of the cable he walked across. I believe he wished it to be changed from five-sixths of an inch to seven-eights of an inch. Future books have been published with this change, so if you happen to have an earlier printing of the story you may have a collector's item on your hands. My point with this story is the pains with which the author has taken to render everything in it factual. On top of that, it's very well written, with the viewer gasping and cheering with every close shave and near accident Petit incurs.

As for the illustrations, they are utterly lovely. From the windswept cover (note the very American bald eagle flying below Petit) to the large pull out sections showing both Petit's walk and the height at which he was walking. If you can read through this book and successfully suppress all shudders, then you're a better man than I, Gunga Din. Best of all is how evocative the tale is. The title page displays the towers being built on a snowy day, and there is a repetitive motif of parents holding up babies to look at Petit. This book is filled with delicate wonders and scintillating details on every page.

I can't imagine how anyone could dislike this story, but some do. Just the same, if you want a picture book filled with beauty and breath-taking adventure, with one happy ending and one wistful ending apiece, select Gerstein's award winning creation. It deserves its applause.

Bird, E.R. (May 2004) A man, a plan, a tower, [Review of the book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers By Mordecai Gerstein] Amazon.com Retrieved from www.amazon.in/The-Man-Walked-Between-Towers/dp/031236878X

Library Uses: This would make a nice display book about the 9/11 tragedy. We have other books concerning the attacks, but this would show the buildings before and initiate discussions about the days before 9/11. Many of our children today know nothing about life before then.