The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Gerstein, Mordicai. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Brookfield: Roaring Brook Press, 2003.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is a great Biography/Historical fiction about a street performing man name Philippe Pitit who dreamed of walking between the Twin towers. He and some friends dressed up as construction works while the buildings were still being built and snuck to the top. It took them all night to get everything ready with a few close calls in between. That morning he walked across the rope, people began to spot him. Police were yelling you are under arrest. When he eventually came down from the rope he was arrested and the judge's "punishment" was for him to perform in the park for children. This brave/illegal act that Pitit took part in left at least one good memory of the towers for the people of New York. This book brings about themes of dedication, devotion, passion, and carrying on the memory of things even if something tragic brought it down.

The thing I criticize is the age appropriateness, after this book some children may go out and attempt to walk a rope across something with no training or. Also I don't think younger children will understand the concept of carrying on the memory because they may not know what happened to the towers or the severity of it. The artistic techniques in this book are very unique. Two pages in the book fold out making the rope walking experience seem very intense and real. Also he builds of his color use from dark to light throughout the book. I thought the very last page with the towers within the cloud being shown as a memory was very creative and intense and send a huge message.

JJS

Session 11: Biography and Nonfiction

For session 11 we'll be talking about two genres of books: non-fiction and biography! To prepare for class, please:

• Read Chapter 9 (Biography) and Chapter 10 (Nonfiction) in C & G.
• Read "The Truth about Helen Keller". What is the author's critique of the way in which Keller is depicted in children's biographies?
  
• Bring 1-2 children's biographies to class. We will use them for an activity, so it is very important to have them in hand!
  
• Come prepared to talk with your group about your group book choice!

• Remember that the second part of facilitator and artistic responses to Esperanza Rising are due before class.
  

If you want to share ideas about group choice selections, please post comments and questions on the post about group choice.