When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Dèja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sabeen by her side. But just as she gets closer to answering big questions about who she is, what America means, and how communities can grow (and heal), she uncovers new questions, too. Like, why does Pop get so angry when she brings up anything about the towers?
Before long, Dèja realizes that the two missing towers that once filled the window of her classroom relate to important questions about how communities — and individuals — can grow and heal. From award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks in a classroom of students who cannot remember the event but live through the aftermath of its cultural shift.
"Rhodes's new novel offers a way to discuss the events of 9/11 with children too young to remember this pivotal event.... This is a welcome contribution to children's literature, on a topic not many authors have broached for this age group, and it will function well as a teaching tool. It reads easily and offers educators the opportunity to not only address the events of September 11 from a historical perspective but also from a social one. Themes include community, diversity, and socioeconomic disparities." — Pilar Okeson, School Library Journal
Recommended Age | 9 - 13 |
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Author | Jewell Parker Rhodes |
ISBN | 0316262226 |
Publication Date | Jul 12, 2016 |
Publisher | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Language | English |