The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein

(Paperback, 44 pages, first published in 2003)

In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a quarter mile in the sky. This picture book captures the poetry and magic of the event with a poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely paintings that present the detail, daring, and—in two dramatic foldout spreads—the vertiginous drama of Petit's feat. 

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is the winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal, the winner of the 2004 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books, and the winner of the 2006 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video.

Considerations: Though the central plot is set in 1974, this book briefly addresses the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in an age-appropriate way.

Ages: 4-10