Caldecott #5

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Gerstein, M. (2003). The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

This is the true story of Philippe Petit, a young French aerialist, who threw a tightrope wire between the twin towers while they were still under construction. He knew that police and the owners of the building would tell him no to his plan of walking between the towers, so he and a friend dressed up as a construction worker to get materials in and up to the rooftop of one tower. Later that night, more friends of his came to the other tower to help get the cable up. It was morning before the wire was ready and people saw him 3/4 of a mile up in the sky, dancing on the wire. Police rushed up to the rooftop to shout "You're under arrest!". Phillipe would not go to the rooftops...Instead he stayed out on the wire for more than an hour where he said he was free. When he was satisfied, he went to the rooftop holding out his wrists to be arrested. When taken to court, he was sentenced to performing at the local city park for the children. The last page of the book has a drawing of the twin towers and Philippe as a memory.

So this is the first book that I've reviewed for this assignment that I've had mixed feelings about. The illustrations are great, details in the story are great, fascination of this being a true story makes it great. HOWEVER, I'm not sure that the idea of using deceit as a way to get something you want (or getting arrested for it) is really picture book material.

Being an adult, I can fully appreciate this story for what it is and the idea behind it, but I have problems with making a hero out of someone who deceives everyone and puts many at risk. I also do not like the part where he decides to stay out on the wire until he is good and ready to be arrested. To me, this seems as though he was basically mocking police. Maybe I'm making too much out of it, but if I read this story to my son, he would be looking for rope to try to tie between two trees and you know he wouldn't tell his mama about it because I'd say no!

Again, I liked the story, being that I am an adult and can fully comprehend it, as I can comprehend right from wrong. Also, just seeing the spread of the twin towers makes my heart skip a beat. I just don't think it's picture book material.