Superintendent Compiles Children’s Reactions to 9/11
By Merri Rosenberg

I thought I had done with weeping for September 11.

Then I received a review copy of this book, and the tears flowed so fast, and so furiously, that I could barely get through it.

Even though as a reporter I had already done some stories about schoolchildren’s response to the tragic events of last September, including collecting their art work and poetry, I had been working in a suburb where the reactions, though pained and often profound, were shaped by the physical distance from lower Manhattan. The communities I profiled were scarcely untouched (many of the children, in fact, had lost parents and loved ones, as had some of the teachers and staff), but the scale of devastation was undeniably different.

Those of us in the northern suburbs experienced the same shock, horror and grief as our city counterparts. I doubt I will ever forget the terror and confusion of not only that bitterly beautiful Tuesday, but the uncertainty and sadness of the days and weeks that followed.

Yet reading these students’ work, many of whom attended school near Battery Park, is almost too much to bear. Their simple descriptions of seeing buildings wreathed in smoke, of racing through dust-covered streets with debris falling all around them, of missing a beloved family member, their night terrors and nightmares, conjure up those days more compellingly than almost anything written by adults.

Combine those written pieces with the poignant imagery included here–like a breathtaking picture of an American flag, with the Twin Towers suprimposed on it, one already wounded and burning, bearing the statement “United We Fell/United We Shall Stand”–and the courage, sensitivity and compassion of New York City’s schoolchildren during those attacks shines forth. Some of the illustrations represent youngsters’ attempts to come to terms with the unfathomable (so many pictures represent the World Trade Center, whole and as it was, reflecting perhaps children’s wish fulfillment that nothing had changed). Some express the hope that families will be reunited. Others show the planes crashing into the towers, as if by capturing the loathsome imagery on paper, somehow it can be tamed and put into some safe place.

The children’s voices are more profound than anything I could express. Here are some examples:

Danielle, a Brooklyn fifth grader, writes, “I go home in peace./But sleep in terror.”

Stephanie, a seventh grader from the Bronx, writes, “On September 11, the twin towers were torn apart./Along with it went a piece of everyone’s heart.../On September 11, we were all changed/None of us will ever be the same.”

From Sophie, a Manhattan fifth grader:

“People streaming across streets. People of different colors, different races. People just walking away. People getting away from the world behind them. Away from a world they don’t want to know about. Away from tragedies they don’t want to face.”

It’s not all bleak. The author has organized the book around themes that move to hope and memory. Amidst all the debate about how to properly memorialize what happened at Ground Zero, I would certainly hope that someone takes a close, and careful, look at this book for inspiration and consolation.

I rarely want to keep the books I review once I’ve read them. This is one that I can’t bear to return.#

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