Before, I took the A line from Dyckman Street to 4th street, then walked across the city for 15 years. I was walking through Washington Square Park at the bottom of the park at the time. As I crossed MacDougal Street, I looked at other people walking by. Many of them were standing at the corner of the street with their eyes on something in the distance. I looked where they could see two miles away. Firey holes are found in the middle of North Tower of the World Trade Center.

As I watched and more people came together, I could hear a low roar of voices in my head. Was the plane there? It smashed into that tower! How could that happen?

We watched as the second plane hit the second tower, and the truth of what was happening became too clear for us. I sped to work because I wanted to find out what was going on and was afraid and confused. Following half an hour of watching the news, our boss sent us home. For safety reasons, the subway service had to be shut down. I joined the thousands of other New Yorkers who were walking uptown, too. Every now and then, I walked next to people who were covered in white dust. To help them, I had to touch them and ask if they were okay. In the evening, I got home from work. My feet were sore and my soul was broken.

Everyone over the age of twenty has a story about 9/11. We remember where we were when the towers were hit, and we know where we were. There were times when we saw the news. We have friends who worked in or near the towers, or we know people who answer the first calls. Before I met him, he was in the second tower and had to leave when the first tower was hit. I will always be thankful for the security guards who made smart, quick decisions that led to so many lives being saved.

During the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11, I think about all the stories of people who lived through that day and how they had to rebuild their lives afterward. Many people have written down stories for us and our children, which has helped us heal and given us more hope for a peaceful world.

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman

As a fireboat, the John J. Harvey was the biggest and fastest of its time. By 1995, the city didn't need old fireboats. So the Harvey was done with work, until a group of friends decided to save it from the scrap heap instead. Someone did something so bad that the whole world fell apart on a sunny September day in 2001. So, the fire department called and asked if Harvey could fight the fires. These words are from Maira Kalman's real-life story. In it, she brings a New York City icon to life and shows that old heroes never die. Twelve Cows for America were made by Carmen Agra Deedy with the help of Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah, and they were made for the US.

June 2002: A very unusual ceremony starts in a village in western Kenya that is very far from the rest of the country. An American diplomat is in the middle of a group of Maasai people. People in the United States are getting a gift soon. He's there to accept it. The gift comes as a surprise as it is a surprise.

Only nine months have passed, and our hearts are still raw. Weep can be seen on both sides of the world as these legendary warriors give their gift to a group of people who are in need of help.

The gift will spread around the world in the news. Many people will be moved, but for Americans, this selfless act will have even more significance. Fourteen cows, given to a country that is hurting, come out from under the dust and darkness as a soft light of hope and friendship.

September Roses by Jeanette Winters

They are flying to New York City on September 11, 2001, with 2,400 roses to show at a flower show. As their plane nears the airport, a cloud of black smoke fills the skyline of New York City. They learn about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center when they get to the airport. This means the sisters can't go home, and they are stuck with a lot of roses on their hands.

Jeanette Winter went to Union Square in the days after September 11, and she saw two rose-covered twin towers. Her story is told in the pages of this small and colorful book, which has a lot of color.

America is Under Attack by Don Brown

Events that took place on September 11, 2001, changed the world for good. In the fourth book in the Actual Times series, Don Brown talks about the day's events in a way that is both easy for young readers to understand and easy for them to read. When terrorist planes were hijacked, this account starts with them taking off. Then it moves on to planes that crashed into buildings in Pennsylvania and New York City, as well as the rescue efforts in New York City. It's important to read this book because it tells the story of one of the most important days in American history through vivid watercolor illustrations.

Middle Grade

Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes

It doesn't help that her fifth-grade teacher says that a series of lessons about home and community will end with a big answer about two tall towers that used to be outside their classroom window. Ben and Sabeen are her new friends. She goes on a trip to find out more about herself. But as soon as she gets close to answering big questions about who she is, what America is, and how communities can grow and heal, she comes up with new questions, as well. Pop gets angry when she talks about the towers, so why does that make him so angry? Ninth and Tenth: A story about September 11 written by Nora Raleigh Baskin

What should I do? September 11, 2001, was peaceful and lovely until a plane hit the World Trade Center.

There are four kids living their lives in different parts of the country right now. It's hard for Sergio to deal with the father he doesn't see and the grandmother he loves. He lives in Brooklyn. He was killed in a car accident that has left the family in shock. Will's father was also killed. At her new school, Naheed is getting weird looks because she wears a head scarf. Naheed has never felt bad about being Muslim before. Her mom is going to New York for work, so Aimee is starting a new school in a new city.

Their lives are going to cross in ways they never thought possible. These four people don't know each other.

The Memory of Things: A Novel by Gae Polisner (September 6, 2016, St. Martin’s Griffin)

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue looks out the window of Stuyvesant High School on September 11, 2001 and sees the first twin tower fall. Terrified and fleeing for his life across the Brooklyn Bridge, he happens to run into someone in the dark, covered with ash and wearing a pair of wings made for the movie "Wings." It's hard for Kyle to get in touch with his father, a New York City police officer, because his mother and sister are in California. Kyle quickly decides to bring the girl back to New York. When Kyle finds out what happened to the girl, he wants to return her to her family, so he tells their story in different ways. Suppose the girl has forgotten everything, even her name. As Kyle gets to know her, does he want her to stay? If you haven't read The Memory of Things, you should. It is a heartbreaking story of friendship and first love, but it also tells a story of hope.

Eleven by Tom Rogers

To be a hero, Alex Douglas always dreamed of being one. But Alex did not do anything heroic. Nothing, until his eleventh birthday. The birthday gift Alex gives himself is a stray dog. He doesn't think his life can get any better after that. This is what he thinks: Radar, his new dog, is about the same. That's not all. This day has bigger things in store for both of them, too!

This is a story about people who are mean and people who are good. About hope and tragedy. Friends with four legs and enemies with two are talked about in this story. There are also annoying little sisters and cranky old men, and an unexpected lesson in kindness that comes with a slice of pizza! A boy turned 11 on 9/11. This is Eleven: his journey.

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