Depending on the age of the child, it can be a challenge to discuss September 11, 2001. One book that I share with our fourth graders is The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook Press, 2003). Gerstein tells the story of Philippe Petit, a high wire performer, who walked between the towers in 1974. This book introduces the building of the World Trade Center. Another favorite is 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy and Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah (Peachtree, 2009). Kimeli tells the story of his Maasai tribe’s reaction to the tragic event in the United States.

Maira Kalman’s non-fiction picture book, Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey (Putnam, 2002), chronicles a privately owned fireboat and the contributions that it made on 9/11. In 2009, CBS Sunday Morning narrated a segment about the John J. Harvey.

Lauren Tarshis’ series, I Survived, has become a favorite among many intermediate readers, and the author featured the tragedy in I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 (Scholastic, 2012). The main character, Lucas, goes in to a New York City firehouse to visit his uncle, a NYC fireman, on that fateful day.

Two non-fiction titles that are written for older elementary school children are America is Under Attack by Don Brown (Roaring Brook Press, 2011) and the young reader’s edition of A Nation Challenged: A Visual History of 9/11 and its Aftermath (Scholastic, 2002)

While there are certainly other books on the subject, these particular titles have stood the test of time. Check out my September 20, 2011 post to read more about The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and 14 Cows for America.