Shelley Harwayne

“Messages to ground zero” was a really interesting book to read and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read a book as special as this one. This book illustrates what students saw out of the windows of their school as the attacks of 9-11 were happening. I found this book so eye-opening for many reasons, but the main reason was because I was able to physically see what was going through the young children's minds as they witnessed one of the worst tragedies in US history. The pictures, words, and thoughts of the young children were all included in the book which made this book so personable and insightful. Another reason I found reading this literature and looking at the artwork so interesting was because it also took the teachers point of view into consideration as well, and showed us what they were going through too. In the book, the teacher keeps the students calm by telling the students, “it is going to be alright,” and by keeping the classroom relaxed and safe so that the affect on the students was limited to the best of the teachers abilities. A great example of what the teacher told the students to keep their spirits up was, “The sun was shining”, or “The birds are still chirping.” I liked this because regardless of the shock the teacher was feeling, her main priority was still keeping her students safe and calm which is so important.… (meer)