The history teacher wanted them to write about September 11, recent past and far past.

Deja told her family, but her dad became angry. He thought Deja shouldn't learn September 11. He became very sick.

The next day, their teacher listed the attacks. They attacked it twice: The fist time they did not win, but the second time, they did. Deja saw a video in Ben's house, she knew all about it.

Deja went to Ben's house and Sebean came too. They decided to do the homework together. They were all wondering when Deja said: "How about we turn the question over? We think about the same, then we get the different." They did the homework very well. In the afternoon, Deja and her friends made a house in art class. It can hold a golf ball. They draw a house first, then they made it out of straw.

The next day, Deja's dad went to school with her. She thought she is going to change school again. But everything went fine. After school, her dad was waiting for her. She can still go to this school.

At night, Deja saw her dad, taking out his suitcase and crying. The next day, she decided to look at the suitcase. She opened it and found out her dad used to work at the world trade center.

She and Ben decided to check out the September 11 memorial. After leaving home, Deja saw a bird. She thought it is beautiful. She whistled to the bird. It looked at her, chirped, and flew away. Deja felt like a bird too. She ran down the street, she thought she is flying.

They met in the subway station, sitting together in the train. Ben took out a jar. It is treats, cooked by Sebean's mother. She didn't like it, as it's sour. A lady said: "My mom used to make them." So Deja gave it to her. She passed it to everyone and everyone smiled and laughed. She felt happy.

They got off at the station, and walked to the trade center. They saw two huge holes. Water is splashing from all four sides and running down. It's endless.

This is the tower's base. Deja and Ben stared into the endless hole.

Deja heard someone crying, she turned. A man was crying. Deja asked: "what is wrong?" The man said: "My daughter died here. This is her name." He pointed to a copper name. Deja felt too sad to speak.

A police had come, so Deja and Ben ran. They got on the subway. They were worried about their parents, trying to be calm. Their mom and dad were there, waiting. Deja's dad said to Ben's mom: "Thank you." and lead Deja away.

He hugged her, just like when Deja was young. Then, he told the whole story.

"I worked in the world trade center with my friends. We worked at the front desk.

We knew everybody and everyone. We told them the best hotdog is a block away, and the fastest elevators.

When the plane hit the tower, my two friends ran to the elevator. It is dangerous, but they want to save more people.

I ran up, the staircase burning hot, people racing down, squishing and crying. I felt sick. All the faces that I know, and all that are missing.

An old women said to me: "Help me down, will you?" She is crying, tears sparkled. I held her, like a baby.

Before the real disaster, there's complete silence in the building. The building is coming down, the metal beams slowly crashing.

I gave the women to the ambulance and watched the ashes and paper fall. I don't know if my friends had gone out of the elevator or it shut down, locking them up.

It is the clearest sky that day. Truly blue, but something truly black happened."

Deja hugged her hero dad, and understood September 11, a disaster, and a day where true heroes are born.

Towers Falling
by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Hardcover, 228 pages
出版社: Little, Brown Young Readers (2016年7月12日)
精装: 256页
读者对象: 8 - 12 岁
语种： 英语
链接：https://www.amazon.cn/Towers-Falling-Rhodes-Jewell-Parker/dp/0316262218/