The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

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 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 (Example: Fireboat). In the case of 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. This book is an eloquent elegy to a moment when the Twin Towers helped to bring the world a great deal of wonder and joy. Gerstein has taken to render everything within the book as 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. The use of pages that unfold to show heighth and increase the readers sense of wonderment and fear. Although this isn’t an element within the writing, it is a reminder of how picture books are a solid blend between narrative and illustrations.