Carmen Agra Deedy has written a deeply moving picturebook on September 11th called 14 Cows for America in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah. This is the true story of Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, of the Maasai people of Kenya who was studying in New York City during the 9/11 attacks. He brought the story of what happened that day home to his tribe & they, in turn, reached out to the people of America with a gift of peace and hope. The illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez are absolutely beautiful. For around ages 5-10, although I think it would be excellent for the classroom for older kids as well.
Fireboat The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman. In 1931 the John J. Harvey fireboat was launched & her crews faithfully fought fires for decades. By 1995, however, the need for fireboats had diminished & the John J. Harvey was considered fit only for the scrap yard. Fortunately, a group of friends had heard of the fireboat's plight & got together to save her & fix her up. Nobody anticipated that someday she might be called back into action. On September 11th, this piece of New York history that had been considered antiquated & useless was instrumental in saving lives & putting out fires. Her owners worked endlessly during the emergency. A very inspiring & touching story, again for ages 5-10
