The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, A Caldecott Award Winning Book

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein

What a wonderful book that tells a tale which is true! This is the story of Philippe Petit, who walked on a wire stretched between the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center. Just looking at the first illustration of the twin towers brought such a rush of emotion for me. It makes me sad to think of how solid and massive these towers looked, buildings which were such a part of the New York skyline and now are gone.

I was unaware that someone had walked on a wire between the two towers so on the first reading of the book my focus was on the text of the story. I am afraid of heights but that does not stop my amazement that someone would look at those towers and want to walk on a wire between them. On my second reading of the story I saw illustrations that were detailed with lines drawn with ink and added color. The towers are in almost every illustration. I like how the perspective changes as Philippe reaches the top of the towers. You see New York as if you were on top of the towers. I especially like the insert in the middle of the book which unfolds to emphasize the massive height of the towers and how precarious that walk had been.

At the end of the story the towers are shown as a memory, just like the memory of that walk undertaken by Philippe Petit. I'm not sure readers will be inspired to walk on a wire after reading this book, but I am sure they will appreciate what a challenge this special walk had been!