The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
Adventure and exploration
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Summary
In 1974, as the World Trade Center was being completed, a young French aerialist, Philippe Petit, threw a tightrope between the two towers and spent almost an hour walking, dancing, and performing tricks a quarter of a mile in the… sky. Petit's high wire walk has remained part of the history of New York City and of the World Trade Center. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers captures the poetry and magic of his feat with a poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely ink and oil paintings that present the detail, the daring, and-in two dramatic foldout spreads-the vertiginous drama of Petit's feat. Just as the massive towers of the World Trade Center remain in memory, so too does the image of a young man walking in the air between them- here given expression by a master picture book artist. A Caldecott winner. The book is unpaged. Mordicai Gerstein is the highly regarded author and illustrator of more than thirty books for children including, most recently, What Charlie Heard, a portrait of the composer Charles Ives. He lives with his wife, Susan Harris, and their daughter, Risa, in Northampton, Massachusetts. Winner of the 2004 Caldicot Medal for illustrations.