Book Description
for September Roses by Jeanette Winter
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
On September 11, 2001, two South African sisters who grow roses were on an airplane with 2,400 of their blooms, heading to a flower show in New York City. Their plane landed safely in New York, but they were stranded at the airport like thousands of others. A church group helped them find a place to stay, but they no longer had a use for their roses. Or did they? Jeanette Winter’s moving picture book is small in size but brimming with feeling as she touches on the tragic events of that day and the generous act of two foreign visitors who used their artistry to reach out to a city full of hurting hearts. An author’s note preceding the main text tells how Winter’s own experiences that September led her to write the story, which is based on true events. An additional note at the brief volume’s end adds details she learned after creating this spare and powerful work, which is illustrated in both full color and black-and-white to underscore the changing emotions that ripple from page to page. (Ages 6–10)
CCBC Choices 2005 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005. Used with permission.