One night in 1974, a young Frenchman secretly - and illegally - rigged a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. At daybreak, he gave the high-wire performance of all time, making eight crossings over the course of an hour, 110 floors up above the earth, as a hundred thousand people gathered on the ground to watch. This book is a lyrical evocation of Philippe Petit's 1974 tightrope walk between the World Trade Center towers.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Grades 3-5 category by the Delaware Diamonds Award. It was recognised by the Caldecott Award. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It also was recognised by the Carnegie Award. The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded by childrens librarians for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. It was recognised in the Horn Book Award - Picture Book category by the Boston Globe.

This book has been graded for interest at 6-9 years.

There are 40 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2003 by Roaring Brook Press .

Mordical Gerstein has illustrated nearly fifty children's book, many of which he also wrote himself. Mordicai's books have won numerous awards.