The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Can you imagine walking between the twin towers on a tight rope?  Would you believe me if I told you someone did?  Honestly, it really happened on August 7, 1974!  The brave soul’s name was Philippe Petit, a French street performer and aerialist.  Mordicai Gerstein wrote and illustrated this 2004 Caldecott Medal winning book.

The story begins with Philippe entertaining the crowds on the streets of New York.  As he walked the rope that he had tied between the trees he noticed another opportunity to push himself to the limits with his daredevil acts.  “He looked not at the towers but at the space between them and thought what a wonderful place to stretch a rope; a wire on which to walk.”  This was not his first attempt at something of this magnitude.  He also walked between the steeples of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.  Philippe knew this was illegal but he felt compelled to do it.  “If he saw two towers, he had to walk!  That’s how he was.”  Philippe and his friends devised a plan and somehow they managed to pull it off.  It goes without saying there is a tremendous amount of work and determination.  They were able to get a four-hundred-and-forty pound reel of cable and other equipment to the top of the unfinished towers.  They worked throughout the night to secure Philippe’s seven-eighths of an inch thick rope.  As the sun rose Philippe stepped out onto the wire.  For almost an hour Philippe walked, danced, ran, knelt and even lied down on this rope.  It wasn’t until Philippe was completely satisfied that he returned to the edge of the tower to face his consequences. 

While this is an amazing story of a man’s courage, determination, and profound skill.  It is also a phenomenally well illustrated story that captures Philippe’s talent and joy as he performs this unthinkable act.  Right from the cover Gerstein draws us in to this experience.  There is an up-close illustration of Philippe’s foot as he balances on a rope high above the city.  When the front and back of the book are extended completely we can see that he is in the middle of his act. 

Gerstein uses glossy paper which can be distancing but the distancing can convey a sense of staidness, serenity, or stillness.  One might not think that is appropriate for such an extreme act but Philippe was at peace with what he was doing.  This is evident throughout the book as he is standing on the rope with his hair blowing in the wind, walking back and forth for almost an hour.  He didn’t just walk across once to complete his mission, he performed a variety of acts until he felt satisfied.  The ink and oil paintings of pale blues and greens reflect the mood for Philippe. 

Gerstein’s use of line and perspective reaches the reader’s emotions.  One can’t help but feel nervous and anxious before the event as he is hanging upside down on top of the tower trying to set up the rope or during the event as he is walking and lying down on the rope. Gerstein captures the joy and freedom Philippe is experiencing as a bird is flying above him and he is stretched out on the wire as if he is saying, “I’m as free as a bird.”  One can’t help but notice the street far below.  There are two magnificent gate folds that draw the reader in to Philippe’s perspective from high above the twin towers.  With the turn of the page there is the second gate fold that transforms the perspective to that of the person on the street.  Very quickly our emotions change from fear to safety. 

Gerstein uses a variety of framing techniques throughout the book.  On some pages there are multiple frames to show the succession of events.  As the story reaches its climax there are full bleed illustrations with the two gate folds that bring the reader into the main event.  Then we return to the framed illustrations after Philippe is content with his experience. 

Mordiacai Gerstein produced an amazing book.  His writing was poetic and his illustrations profound.  Together they captured Philippe Petit’s courageous character.  He portrayed his incredible determination, profound skill, and the thrill he sought as he performed such courageous acts.

I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant

What is the cost of war?  Family. Friends. The love of your life. Your own innocence……  If you could turn back the clock, would you be so eager to enlist and put your life on the line?  I Had Seen Castles by Cynthia Rylant is a novel written about John Dante.  The story is told through his eyes .  “More than fifty years later, hundreds of miles between Pittsburgh and Toronto, and God knows how many altered faces since….. still I want to remake that day.”

John Dante is much like any typical seventeen year old.  He enjoys hanging out with his friends, going to school, and is often thinking about girls.  All was well for John until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  Every aspect of John’s life was about to change.  His dad the professor was moving to California to work for the government.   His mother who enjoyed photography was about to work in a local factory to make artillery pieces and small arms.  His lovely sister that wanted to be a school teacher would be sent off to live with a relative because she becomes pregnant.   John is waiting to turn eighteen so he can enlist in the armed forces. Suddenly, John has the desire to live, to experience life to its fullest because he knows he may not make it home. 

Upon John’s quest to live and experience life before he goes off to war, he falls in love.  John had been traveling on a bus and was accidentally bumped off and landed at the feet of a remarkable girl.  “I looked up into the most hypnotic blue eyes I had ever seen.  Ginny was what they call Dark Irish.  Thick black hair, pale freckled skin, and blue eyes to pin you to the ground.”  Ginny and John quickly developed a relationship that appeared real and true. Although, John was eager to be a part of the war for fear he would be labeled a coward.  Ginny was opposed to the war and wanted John to be a conscientious objector.  John “would have rather died than be judged a coward.”  “Ginny said softly, “If you die, you miss everything.  You won’t be back and you’ll miss everything.  Just as softly, I answered, “If ‘everything’ here is that important, then I’d damned well better go.”  This is the crux in their relationship.  There is intensity in this book about peace and war, about life and death. 

Rylant tells a remarkable story about a boy who was forever transformed because of war.  I certainly became invested in the characters because of her artistic ability to write and make you connect on an emotional level.  However, after reflecting on this novel written about war, I began to connect to the wars that we are involved in today. After reading this book, would a seventeen year old today still be eager to fight in wars or would they give it a second thought?  Rylant describes some very grim experiences of war.  It also made me think about the men and women today that are currently fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.  I can’t imagine what it is like for them to come back home.  How are they supposed to just jump back to life with their spouse and children and carry on as if nothing has every happened?  I certainly have gained a new perspective of what life is like for a soldier, serving on the front lines, and then trying to adjust to life as usual at home.

John was so adamant about fighting for freedom and democracy. After three months of combat John could not fight for words anymore.  “Not for democracy, nor freedom, and certainly not for religion.”  “I killed to keep from dying.  I killed to protect the boys in my squad.”  I wonder how many soldiers today feel the same way.  This book could certainly evoke some strong feelings about war.  I can imagine some serious conversations in a classroom or around the table in a home.

I was disappointed that John was never able to see Ginny again.  I guess I was looking for the happily ever after….  I just thought it was so important for her to know that she helped him survive and that he was seeking forgiveness from her.  The last two lines are so powerful.  “But, Ginny, I want you to know that I am really alive.  And I still love you.”   I don’t understand why he didn’t continue to search for her.  He said, “I didn’t have enough resolve, was still weak and carful, could not do it.”  What about now?  Was he afraid he would upset her current life?  Was he afraid he would not be able to have a life with her?  Was it better not to try than to be rejected? 

War is painful and life altering, even if you survive.  Is it worth the cost?

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad was written by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.  Together, Levine and Nelson have created a masterpiece.  Levine is able to tell Henry’s story with simple poetic language and Nelson’s art extends the story that is not conveyed through text.   He uses crosshatched pencil, water color, and oil paintings.  His artistic style creates emotional scenes that convey the depth of Henry’s emotions throughout the story.  It is a heart wrenching story about love, loss, and bravery.

The story begins with Henry as a young slave.  Nelson portrays Henry sitting on his mother’s lap watching the autumn leaves falling from the trees.  Henry’s mother says, “Do you see those leaves blowing in the wind?  They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.”  In this illustration, Nelson is able to portray closeness, a bond, between a mother and a child.  Henry’s mother knew she had to prepare herself and her son for the inevitable.

Henry was taken from his mother and he began working in a tobacco factory.   Nelson does an amazing job with every turn of the page; you see the successive development as he grows over time.   He was able to move on with his life as he grew into an adult.  He married and had three children.   One evening Henry’s wife, Nancy, conveyed her fears of losing her children.  Her slave owner had lost a great deal of money.  She said, “I’m afraid he will sell our children.”  The next double page spread shows the side view of Henry’s head.  His head takes up three-fourths of the spread, drawing the reader into his mind.  We begin to have his thoughts.  What can he do?  How will he be able to protect his children?

Nancy and Henry’s worst fears came true.  However, it wasn’t just the children, Nancy was taken too.  They were taken to town and sold at an auction.  Henry was helpless.  There wasn’t anything he could do.  Nelson’s powerful illustration of this scene is heartbreaking. Nelson uses line, shape and color to extend the story.  From the gutter there is a very large and bold line going at an angle from the middle of the page extending to the bottom right corner of the page.  This is the top of the wooden trailer that is being used to cart off Henry’s family.  There is also a very large curved wheel that is bold right through the center of the gutter and onto the left page.  Nelson used these lines to direct our attention and focus our eye.  He has created a sense of motion and tension through these lines.  These are center stage and up close to show the significance of this event.

Henry was dying inside.  His family, what he lived for, had been taken away forever.  Henry devised a plan to be shipped in a wooden crate from Richmond, VA to Philadelphia, PA.  He asked a friend and an abolitionist Dr. to help execute the plan.  Amazingly, it worked!  Henry arrived in PA on March 30, 1849.

As I read the story I kept wondering how he survived.  How long it took? How many miles?  Would he find his family?  There is an author’s note in the back of the book that provides answers to the many questions the reader has. 

This was an exceptional book!   In my opinion, this book is a great example of an author and illustrator working together to convey an incredible story about Henry Brown's journey to freedom. The illustrations in this book will forever be etched in my mind.  A Masterpiece!

If you would like to watch an interview with Ellen Levine about this book click here.

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman

Bull Run is everything about history that a text book cannot provide.  Sure, it is important to know dates and vocabulary.  But it is equally important to understand what war is really about.  A text book doesn’t even touch the depth of a person’s thoughts, their true experiences, and the emotional ramifications after participating in such an event. 

Paul Fleischman is anything but ordinary.  He is an extraordinary author who recaptures the accounts at the Battle of Bull Run through sixteen different characters, making each person’s point of view come alive.  Eight are southerners and eight are northerners.  There is diversity among these fictional characters as well.  They range from free to slaves, black and white, young and old, educated and uneducated all of which are a part of our history.  Fleischman portrays realistic people trying to make sense of their time.  Fighting for a cause.

I have recently read Seedfolks by Fleischman and recognized the format of the text.  I was anticipating that each vignette was an isolated account, only to find out that these characters would surface again to continue their account of this time in history.  I then became more in tune with the illustrations provided by David Frampton. He used wood cuts to create a stamp like image of each character.  These illustrations were symbolic of each character with their initials engraved in the block as well.  These pictures helped me remember the characters and their significance in the story. 

The significance of this book lies with Fleischman’s ability to create characters that we care about or sympathize with.  With a page and a half we are emotionally attached to Lily Malloy and her siblings who are abused.  “Father was a grim-faced Scot and a great believer in switching.”  Gideon Adams, an African American, whose skin was light.  We become captivated in his bravery to fight for freedom and the only way he could join the cause was to pretend he was someone he was not, a white man.  “I left in a daze, glancing at the white men around me, who thought me one of them.  The dread of discovery streaked through my veins.”  Toby Boyce, the eleven year old who would have done anything to kill a Yankee.  As the battle comes to an end, Toby is given an opportunity to kill a Yankee.  A man yells out to him.  “I turned and saw a man who’d no body to speak of below his waist.  “Shoot me,” he said.”  “But instead I ran, dodging dead bodies, ran back through the Southern men, past the wagons, past the doctors, and kept on running toward Georgia and Grandpap.” 

We all know how emotions can affect our memories.  We can all recall where we were and how we felt when we were attacked on September 11^th, because of the raw emotion.  In education we keep talking about the depth and breadth needed to educate our children.  But why don’t we use literature that lends itself to such depth and breadth?  As I reflect on my past education learning about history, it was always from a text book.  Needless to say, I was not interested and didn’t enjoy it.  I would strongly encourage educators to step outside of the box and use literature that is engaging and rewarding.  Use literature that lends itself to conversation that allows us to dig deeper and have a better understanding about what really happened and why. 

Fleischman includes a map at the beginning of the book showing the Union States, the Confederate States, and the states that bordered between.  There is also a map that illustrates the position, advance, and retreat of the troops on the morning and afternoon of July 21, 1861.  In addition, he includes a note at the end.  The characters in this book are all fictional except for General McDowell.  However, all the background information is factual.  There is a list of the character’s names with the pages in which they speak.  This was provided for those who would like to stage the work or perform this work as reader’s theatre. 

Moon Over Manifest

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool was awarded the 2011 John Newberry Medal. It is historical fiction with a touch of mystery and adventure.  The author’s note in the back provides some background information about what is fact or fiction in this story.  She also shares where the fact or fiction came from.

Twelve year old Abilene Tucker was living on the go with her dad.  It was 1936, and times were tough during the Great Depression.  Gideon, Abilene’s dad, decided to send Abilene to Manifest, Kansas to stay with an old friend, “Shady,” while he worked on a railroad job for the summer.

Abilene feels abandoned by her father.  She wanted to know how he could just ship her off without a second thought to someone she didn’t even know.  Abilene became curious about her father’s past.  What was it about his past that shaped who he was today?

Vanderpool did a great job creating a sense of realism that brought the time period alive.  She used different narrative formats that allowed her to alternate between the present, 1936 and the past, 1918.  The story is told from a variety of perspectives; Ablilene’s first person narrative, letters from a World War I soldier, old news paper articles, and third person vignettes told by a “diviner” who retells  the past as if it were occurring in the present.  This story connects the actions of the past to the present and possibly the future.

Abilene is staying with Shady who was a bootlegging, part time preacher in this town.  She begins looking for clues towards her father’s past.  She finds a Lucky Bill cigar box that was filled with a map and some old letters that mentioned a local spy named “The Rattler.”  There were also some other mementos that didn’t appear to be connected to anything.

Abilene eventually made friends with Lettie and Ruthanne.    Abilene shares her spy map with the girls and their adventure begins.  They are looking for clues as they travel around town but they don’t know what they are looking for and are beginning to wonder if it is even worth their time.  When they return to Shady’s property there is a note:  “LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE.”  Now they know they are on to something, but how will they figure it out?

Abilene had lost her compass, one of the only items she had to connect her to her father.  Abilene stumbles upon Miss Sadie, the diviner, as she was trying to get her compass back.  Abilene broke one of her pots and agreed to work to pay off the debt.  As she worked for Miss Sadie, Miss Sadie would begin to retell events from the past.  

There are many twists and turns throughout the book.  Learning about Abilene’s father’s character was quite predictable.  However, I was completely surprised by the Miss Sadie’s story and her connection with the compass.  What an amazing story about the love that she has for her child as, “She watches.  She waits.  She loves.”

Moon Over Manifest and One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia are both stories that deal with parents abandoning their children.   As a parent myself, I have a hard time connecting to these parents.  I can’t understand why the mother in One Crazy Summer just walked away.  Although, I must admit I have a little more compassion for the dad in Moon Over Manifest.  Maybe because his absence was temporary.  Although, Miss Sadie’s situation may be viewed as abandonment as well.  Her circumstances almost justify that she did the right thing.  What does that say about the power of love?  What does that say about her character?  What would you have done?

The Van Gogh Cafe

The Van Gogh Café

By Cynthia Rylant

Magic, Hope, and Transformation.  Who couldn’t use a little of that in their life?  You just need to visit the Van Gogh Café in Flowers, Kansas.  This café is in a building that was once a theatre.  “Anyone who has ever seen anything happen on stage – anything—knows that a theater is so full of magic that after years and years of opening nights there must be magic enough to last forever in its walls.”  Or is Clara the real reason for the magic?  Clara, the daughter of Marc and store owner, is ten and believes that anything can happen.

A grieving man is on his way out of town and he has no idea where to go.  His wife has just passed away and he feels he must leave until he drives past the Van Gogh Café.  He sees people feeding a possum and other hungry animals standing beneath it.   “And then the man sees something else there, too, something unusual no one else has seen until now.  And because of what he sees, he turns his car around and drives back where he belongs, back to his farm, which he turns into a home for stray animals, animals who come to him and take away his loneliness.”    What does he see?  Hope? A purpose?

The most moving story was in The Star.  An elderly actor enters the café early one morning and the owner, Marc, recognizes him.  “He is tall, and slender, and he moves like water.”  The man sits in the café from sun up to sun down.  Marc finally asks him why he is there.  “Why, sir, are you at the Van Gogh Café?”  The man pulls out a picture of himself and a friend from 1923, when the café was once a theatre. He tells Marc that he is waiting for his friend.  It comes time to close the café, but the man is certain that his friend will be coming and Marc allows him to stay.   Marc took his daughter home and returned to the café to find that the man’s friend had finally come and taken him home. 

On a much lighter note, a writer stops in at the café.  He has been trying to have his work published for four years.  “The writer sits a long time watching people come and go.  He watches their faces change when they enter the Van Gogh Café-the tiredness lift, the worry relax, the hurry slow down.  They come in and they are kind and modest and funny.”  “There in the Van Gogh Café, he is reminded of what he is and of what he finds beautiful.” He realizes his real calling to be a writer.

This book was a quick easy read.   I am becoming quite intrigued by Cynthia Rylant’s style of writing.  This particular book has simple writing, but there is great depth that the reader could interpret.  I have noticed her ability to write about issues in our society in a subtle way.  The beauty of it all is how one may interpret the text.  I also have noticed her varying lengths of sentences.  Some can be quite long while others can be one or two words.  In this example, “The daughter fascinates the writer.  She is so still.  Wide, watchful eyes.  She reminds him of the moon or an owl.”  There is a greater emphasis placed on the description which helped create Carla as a character. 

This is a well written book that is a delight to read.  There really is Magic, Hope, and Transformation in this book as well as in our own lives.  We just need to slow down and appreciate the Magic in our daily lives, Hope that all will work out and allow the Transformation to occur.

One Crazy Summer

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams- Garcia was a Newberry Honor, National Book Award Finalist, and the Coretta Scott King winner.  This historical tale is about eleven year old, Delphine, nine year old, Vonetta, and seven year old Fern.  They live in Brooklyn, NY with their father and grandmother.  It is the summer of 1968, when the father decides it is time for the girls to meet their mother, Cecile.  When I think about a relationship between a mother and her children I think about love, laughter, and joy.  This relationship is anything but those qualities.  Cecile, also known as Sister Zila, is a detached mother who lives in Oakland, CA.  She abandoned her family seven years earlier to pursue her passion with poetry. 

Once the girls arrive in California they are hardly acknowledged by their mother.  Upon arriving at her green stucco house Cecile says, “Your room’s in the back.  Bathroom across the hall.  The daybeds roll out.  That should be enough for y’all.”  It is one thing to be unaffectionate toward your children, but to come out and say, “I didn’t send for you.  Didn’t want you in the first place.  Should have gone to Mexico to get rid of you when I had the chance.”  I felt so bad for these children.  They were longing for a mother.  A hug.  “A look of sorrow and a plea for forgiveness.”

That evening she sends the three of them out for Chinese take -out.  The following morning she sends them to the Black Panther’s People Center for breakfast.  She tells them, “Don’t kill yourself to get back here.  Stay out till sundown.” The girls understand very quickly that their mother still doesn’t want a relationship with them.  So, they make the best of their time there.  They continue to go to the Black Panther’s People Center for breakfast and attend the Black Panthers day camp.   It is here that they make friends and learn about the revolution and its people.  They understand that the Black Panthers are about serving their community and protecting the rights of the black citizens.

Rita Williams Garcia does an amazing job of writing this historical tale.  She is able to educate us about the past through the eyes of a child.  My heart broke as they watched their mother being taken away by the police.  We learn about arrests, rallies, advertising, and the revolution that they were a part of.    I was quickly drawn into the characters, wanting to protect them and love them. 

Delphine is a wonderful character; responsible, protective, thoughtful, loving, nurturing, respectful, just to name a few.  I was so proud of her when she stood up to her mother.  “I’m only eleven years old, and I do everything.  I have to because you’re not there to do it.  I’m only eleven years old, but I do the best I can.  I don’t just up and leave.”   Delphine then has an important conversation with her mother that will help her have a better understanding of why her mother is so detached and unemotional.  Delphine asked her mother if she left because she couldn’t name her youngest child.  Cecile’s response, “You’d have to be grown first before I explained.  If I told you now, it would just be words.”  Her advice, “Be eleven, Delphine.  Be eleven while you can.”

So what is the real reason for leaving? Poetry? The Revolution?   What can make you dislike your children that much that you can just walk away?

I was hoping to read an author’s note to give me more historical information about the Black Panther Party.  For more information click Black Panther Party.