Caldecott book 1 of 5: The Man who Walked between the Towers, #518

"The Man who Walked between the Towers" by author Mordicai Gerstein is a 2004 recipient of the Caldecott Medal. It is the true story of Frenchman Philippe Petit's incredible, mind-blowing trek on mere rope between the two towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

Petit was a street performer in New York during the 1970s. His repertoire was of the standard variety: juggling balls, juggling torches and the like. However, his favorite thing was to "walk and dance on a rope he tied between two trees." He got a notion to do the same thing, except instead of two trees, he wanted to walk between the behemoth towers.

Operating in secret, he and some friends hid in the buildings until night. Then they began the difficult (some might say crazy) business of securing the rope to the two towers, which were 140 feet away from each other. Incredibly, he and his friends did secure the rope between the two towers; the rope was a mere five-eighths of an inch thick.

He succeeded in his trek--without injury.

This book took me by surprise. It captured me somehow. I started out with a typical adult attitude of, "he sounds nuts." But the story was about more than that. First, I think the book--through Petit's story--demonstrates to children the idea of not being afraid to do what you like. For instance, when describing the moments before Petit's first steps on the rope, the book says, "Philippe put on his black shirt and tights. He picked up his twenty-eight-foot balancing pole. All his life he had worked to be here; to do this." Midway through his journey (which I can imagine as being the most terrifying part), the book says, "He could feel the towers breathing. He was not afraid. He felt alone and happy and absolutely free." One theme of the book is: have the courage to be who you are.

Not only is the book a testament to Petit's courage, independence and sense of whimsy, it is also a testament to the memory of the towers. There is a poignant section of the book that simply says, "Now the towers are gone."

The book had a special meaning for me. I was at the World Trade Center as a five-year-old in 1979--a mere five years after Petit's journey. My family and I were eating in the top-floor restaurant on one of the towers (I think it was called Windows) and I remember practically sitting at my mom's knee--attention rapt--as she told me of the time she saw a man walk on a rope between two towers. Even as a five-year-old, I thought she was kidding. Turns out, she wasn't.