Today marks the 20 year anniversary of September 11, 2001. The day our lives in America were changed forever. A day which shocked the world.
Most of us remember where we were that day. No matter who you speak to, there is not one person who was not affected by that day.
Granted, no one was more affected than the victims or their families. I knew of three individuals who died that day in the Twin Towers. One was even a firefighter who was crushed when the South Tower fell.
The importance of this day is not lost on those who lived through it. However, most children born after the year 2000, do not know what those 2 hours did to forever change everyone’s life here in the United States. It took the next few months for everyone to slowly come to terms with what happened.
Even though news reports and videos are available of the Twin Towers crumbling, the planes as they hit the towers, first responders running into the burning buildings, the Pentagon on fire and the crash site of United Airlines flight 93. It is still hard for children to understand the impact of that day.
Yet, with the many sad reports of trauma and death, emerged stories of courage, unlikely friendships formed, resilience and the true spirit of humanity. One thing that did happen on that day was no matter what race or color you were, no matter what political affiliation, no matter what religion, no matter what were an individuals prior thoughts about others; you saw individuals saving lives, holding hands, embracing, literally giving the shirt off their backs and standing together the way we were meant to be.
So the question is how do you explain to your child the significance of this day? Well, to help you out, I have taken the liberty of choosing 4 children’s books which give true accounts of what happen that day but also help them to see the true human spirit.
Here are my personal suggestions below:
by Amanda Davis, Sally Wern Comport (Illustrator)
The 9/11 Survivor Tree
by Ann Magee, Nicole Wong (Illustrator)
The branches of the 9/11 Survivor Tree poked through the rubble at Ground Zero. They were glimpses of hope in the weeks after September 11, 2001.
by Nora Raleigh Baskin
A bittersweet story about four children from all over the country in the days leading up to September 11th.
9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
by Jim DeFede
When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International irport by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11
I hope you can take the time to read one of these wonderful books to your children.