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Are there particular children's books that comforted you and your family after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 or any you'd like to recommend that you feel promote peace and understanding?
Liz Kennedy
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Since the fall of 2001, the words "September 11" have taken on new meaning. Newspaper articles, TV news reports, and anniversaries (one month, six months, one year) bring to the forefront of our minds the terror, grief, and anger many of us felt, and still feel, about the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. In response to the events of that day, I have gathered some online resources to assist parents, teachers, children's librarians, and other concerned adults as they endeavor to:
- Help children cope in times of crisis,
- Teach tolerance, and
- Promote peaceful conflict resolution.
The following articles provide information about (and links to) children's books - from picture books and children's poetry books to children's fiction and nonfiction, web sites, and other resources that I recommend. The first article I wrote after September 11th was "Resources for Helping Children Cope After the 9/11/01 Terrorist Attacks." It includes descriptions and links to a number of the sections of Scholastic's "America Under Attack" feature as well as links to other resources for parents and teachers.
The next article, "Books for Children in Crisis: Dealing with Fear, War, and Prejudice," emphasized the importance of tolerance and included links to information and stories about Islam, Muslims, and the Middle East, as well as an overview of the development of the "Finding Comfort in Books" booklist compiled by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, with assistance from a number of children's book publishers.
Recently, a great many children's books related to September 11, 2002 have been published. I wrote a review of "This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort," a book that I found to provide both hope and consolation. Two other books that I have not yet read came highly recommended to me by teachers and librarians. They are for children 12 and older. "911: The Book of Help" (compare prices) contains essays, poems, and stories in response to September 11 that were written by well-known children's authors, including Walter Dean Myers, Avi, Chris Raschka, Katherine Paterson and many others. "With Their Eyes: September 11th - The View from a High School at Ground Zero" (compare prices) contains eyewitness accounts from students at Stuyvesant High School, which was located only a few blocks away from the World Trade Center.
If there are other books and/or resources you would recommend, please post information about them on the About Children's Books Forum, our discussion board.
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