911: The Book of Help

Grade 8 Up-A global viewpoint on the September 11 attacks is presented through 25 essays, short stories, and poems divided into four sections: "Healing," "Searching for History," "Asking Why? Why? Why?" and "Reacting and Recovering." Although every entry does not deal with the theme of rebuilding, Katherine Paterson's introductory essay sets a tone of hope. Paterson's son David gives a vivid, textured picture of what it was like to work at Ground Zero less than 48 hours after the attack. Russell Freedman pays tribute to New Yorkers' sense of community and appreciation for the rescue workers who gave their lives. While many of the short pieces offer a sense of hope, much of the poetry will make readers cry. The horror, anger, and pain are given voice, too. Walter Dean Myers's essay is about just that-the anger and frustration engendered by our vulnerability and inability to elicit sympathy from cultures that harbor enmity for America. A call for understanding is evidenced in several pieces. Marion Dane Bauer reminds readers to beware of fear and know that we can change the world one kindness at a time. James Cross Giblin uses Pearl Harbor and the Cuban Missile Crisis to assure readers that, as a nation, we will survive. Naomi Shihab Nye, an Arab-American, says we make sense out of life through words. This volume is a worthy attempt to do so.
Joanne K. Cecere, Monroe-Woodbury High School, Central Valley, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An impressive cast of more than 20 children's book authors donated work to this highly personal, often affecting roundup of essays, short stories and poems inspired by the events of September 11th. Organized into four sections from "Healing" to "Reacting and Recovering," the pieces range from related events triggered by the New York tragedy to writers' evocations of the horrific images they viewed that morning. Arnold Adoff draws a correlation to King's assassination in Memphis ("Souls rise/ without reason long before their reasonable times"); David Paterson (son of fellow contributor Katherine Paterson) recounts perhaps the most immediate connection to the terrorist attacks as he relates his experience at Ground Zero on September 13 with shovel in hand to help clear the rubble. In a candid entry, Walter Dean Myers recalls watching a Middle Eastern man in London cheering the loss of American lives: "He is my enemy because those who think like he does have brought violence and hatred to my door, and to the doors of those I love." Perhaps Susan Cooper (who heard the roar of a fighter plane in New York City on 9/11 and recalled the bombs that fell on her London neighborhood during WWII) best sums up the collection's underlying message: "But the opposite of terror is hope, and... hope can drive out fear." Other contributors to this strong collection include Avi, Sharon Creech, Nikki Giovanni, Margaret Mahy and Naomi Shihab Nye; Chris Raschka provides an evocative cover and interior pen-and-inks for each section opener. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.