On the 20th anniversary of September 11th, 2001, we'd like to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives that day. Those of us who lived through that day will never forget it--but to those who have been born since 2001, it's a day they learn about in school and historical fiction. Here are some works of fiction for young readers about the events of 9/11, and some nonfiction histories for adults looking to learn more.
Historical Fiction for Younger Readers
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Enduring freedom
by Jawad Arash A dual-narrative tale finds a young American army private and an Afghan youth living under the horrors of the Taliban caught on opposing sides during the tumultuous events leading up to and following September 11, 2001. |
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Nine, ten : a September 11 story
by Nora Raleigh Baskin Relates how the lives of four children living in different parts of the country intersect and are affected by the events of September 11, 2001. |
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Big Apple diaries
by Alyssa Bermudez In Big Apple Diaries, a heartfelt diary-style graphic memoir by Alyssa Bermudez, a young New Yorker doodles her way through middle school--until the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack leaves her wondering if she can ever be a kid again. It's the year 2000 in New York City. For 12-year old Alyssa, this means splitting time between her Puerto Rican dad's apartment in Manhattan and her white mom's new place in Queens, navigating the trials and tribulations of middle school, and an epic crush on a new classmate. The only way to make sense of it all is to capture the highs and lows in doodles and hilarious comics in a diary. Then life abruptly changes on September 11, 2001. After the Twin Towers fall and so many lives are lost, worries about gossip and boys feel distant and insignificant. Alyssa must find a new sense of self and purpose amidst all of the chaos, and find the strength to move forward with hope. |
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Hope and other punchlines
by Julie Buxbaum The tragic 9/11 event in NYC that changed the world, altered the life of Abbi Hope Goldstein as well as that of Noah Stern. They did not know each other back then, but they know each other now, and while Abbi is trying to move forward with her life, Noah still has unanswered questions that he believes Abbi can help answer. |
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14 cows for America
by Carmen Agra Deedy Maasai tribal members, after hearing the story of the September 11 attacks from a young Maasai, who was in New York on that day, decide to present the American people with 14 sacred cows as a healing gift. |
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Ground Zero
by Alan Gratz A dual tale published to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks finds a young boy struggling to find his father and escape the World Trade Center in 2001, before a girl in battle-torn 2020 Afghanistan risks her life to help a wounded soldier. |
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Fireboat : the heroic adventures of the John J. Harvey
by Maira Kalman Offers the true story of this historic fireboat that was pulled from its retirement on the day of the attacks on the World Trade Center in order to assist firefighters tending to the massive blaze and, with a few adjustments, succeeded in completing its mission. |
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Towers falling
by Jewell Parker Rhodes Three dynamic fifth-graders who were born after September 11 work together on a project about how communities grow together, discovering how the attacks still powerfully affect their families and their neighborhood. By the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Ninth Ward. |
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Eleven
by Tom Rogers Always wanting to be a hero, Alex Douglas finally gets his chance on his eleventh birthday, September 11, 2001. |
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I survived the attacks of September 11, 2001
by Lauren Tarshis Looking forward to spending his 11th birthday with his brave New York City firefighter dad, Noah is shocked when the outing is interrupted by the September 11 attacks, to which his father must respond at the risk of his life. |
Nonfiction for Older Readers
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On That Day : The Definitive Timeline of 9/11
by William M. Arkin A veteran military and security analyst and commentator, reconstructing a minute-by-minute narrative of 9/11, asks and answers some vital questions: What did we learn from 9/11? And are we any more likely to be ready if something like it ever happened again? |
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America is under attack : the day the towers fell : September 11, 2001
by Don Brown On the 10th anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, a straightforward and sensitive book for a generation of children too young to remember that terrible day takes readers chronologically through the morning--from the plane hijackings and crashes at the World Trade Center (WTC), the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, to the rescue operations at the WTC site and the collapse of the buildings. |
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In the shadow of the fallen towers : the second, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years after the 9/11 attacks
by Don Brown This graphic novel chronicles the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City through moving individual stories that bear witness to our history and the ways it shapes our future. |
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After the fall : New Yorkers remember September 2001 and the years that followed
by Mary Marshall Clark Collects accounts of the events and aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. |
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The day the world came to town : 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
by Jim DeFede Shares the experiences of the citizens of Gander, Newfoundland, who were hosts to the more than six thousand passengers of thirty-eight U.S.-bound jetliners forced to land there in the wake of the September 11 attacks. |
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The only plane in the sky : an oral history of 9/11
by Garrett M. Graff A panoramic oral history of the September 11 attacks draws on hundreds of interviews with government officials, first responders, survivors, friends and family members to recount events from the perspectives of firsthand witnesses. |
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Ordinary heroes : a memoir of 9/11
by Joseph Pfeifer In this unforgettable memoir and powerful tribute to those who died so that others might live, the first FDNY chief to respond to the 9/11 attacks recounts what he witnessed at Ground Zero, on that day and the days that followed. |
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In the shadow of no towers
by Art Spiegelman The creator of Maus conveys experience of the September 11th tragedy in a series of drawings and text that capture the horror of the event, its impact on his own life, and the dangerous erosion of American democracy that has occured in the aftermath of the attack. |
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American widow
by Alissa Torres Created in the format of a graphic novel, a deeply personal memoir recalls the author's whirlwind romance, courtship, and marriage to Eddie Torres, a one-time illegal alien who had worked his way up the ladder of success to take a dream job at Cantor Fitzgerald, only to die in the World Trade Center attacks, leaving his wife pregnant with their first child. |
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Fall and rise : the story of 9/11
by Mitchell Zuckoff Weaves together the events in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania to create a complete narrative of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, offering stories of the people most affected by the attacks and their immediate aftermath. |