Picture Book #2 -- The Man Who Walked Between The Towers --Caldecott Medal Winner

TITLE: The Man Who Walked Between The Towers
AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR: Mordicai Gerstein
GENRE: This book falls into the biography genre.
THEME: There are many different themes in this book, one is determination, and another is city life.
AWARDS: The book The Man Who Walked Between The Towers is a Caldecott Medal winner in 2004.
CHARACTERS:The main character is Philippe Petit, with supporting characters whose names aren't given of his friends that help him get to the roof.
PUBLISHING DATE AND COMPANY: This book was published in 2003, by the Roaring Brook Press.
SUMMARY: This book starts out talking about the Twin Towers in New York City, how tall and majestic they are. Then we meet the main character, Philippe, who is a performer and can do many things, like juggle, ride a unicycle, and walk on a rope he tied to trees. It is said that Philippe dance on a wire between the Notre Dame Cathedral's steeples, and upset many people in Paris. He decided that the space between the towers would be perfect to dance between, but he knew he would have to be careful, because no one would let a man between two towers that are a quarter of a mile off the ground. So, since the towers were still under construction at the time, he decided him and a friend could dress up as construction workers to get his wire to the top. It took them most of the night to get the wire across the space between the two buildings, with many obstacles in the way. However, by morning him and his friends were able to get the wire strung, and he walked across the wire. When people started noticing Philippe, is when the police took notice and went to the top of the towers and told him he would be arrested. As punishment, Philippe had to perform in the park for the children so that they could enjoy his talents. The end of the book ***SPOILER ALERT*** is about how now that the Twin Towers are gone that there is still the memory of the man who walked between the towers.

I could use this in my class to show determination. This would be a good book for third grade, because they would be old enough to understand when to follow rules and your determination, and when to just go for it.