This book is about two girls who fly to New York at the same time the Twin Towers were unfortunately hit. They were traveling with flowers and they decided to go to Ground Zero and lay the roses in the shape of the Twin Towers to honor those who passes and the tragedy that had occurred.

In this compact book, Winters writes about how she went to Union Square a few days after September 11, 2001 and saw tons of roses. She later learned how two sisters from South Africa had flown in to New York City that morning with thousands of roses for a flower expo. Instead they got stranded in the airport and ended up generously donating their roses to the city's vigils.

This book is quite tiny but quite beautiful. The illustrations are largely grays but then with pops of colors for the roses and other items as relevant. The font set looks like script, adding to the feeling of this book being a work of art. The text is not in verse but it is quite poetic. The content is bittersweet, highlighting both trauma and hope. The language is not gratuitous, but the topic is obviously upsetting, perhaps for some kids and families more than others. ( )

Prolific picture-book author and artist Jeanette Winter, perhaps best known for her many biographies in the form, from The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq to The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps, here turns to the story of the terrorist attack in New York City on September 11th, 2001. This tiny book - 6x7 inches - follows the story of two rose growers from South Africa who arrive in the city on that fateful day, bringing 2400 flowers with them for a show. Stranded at La Guardia Airport before being offered shelter by a Methodist church in Queens, the sisters decide to use their roses to create a temporary memorial to the fallen towers, in New York City's Union Square...

Although I am familiar with a number of stories about the city in the aftermath of 9/11, and although I worked for many years quite close to Union Square - I can still recall the military patrols passing me, as I would sit on the train platform there almost a year later, and I have vivid memories of walking by the citizen-made memorial within the subway station, with the victims' names attached to the white tiles along one corridor - I wasn't familiar with the story in September Roses. I've read and greatly enjoyed many of Winter's other books, and this being the anniversary of the attack - hard to believe it's been nineteen years! - I picked it up today. It is a poignant tale, one made more powerful by familiarity with the events of that terrible day. I don't know that it would make for the best introduction to the topic for children, as it doesn't really explain everything that was happening, but it certainly represents one way of entering into a discussion with them, about the impact 9/11 had on the people of the city, the nation and the world. It could be paired with 14 Cows for America, which offers another powerful story of a reaction to 9/11. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I think that it'll serve as a great teaching tool in regards to 9/11 but I also enjoyed hearing the sisters story about the roses. I also enjoyed the illustrators work, I think he did a very good job. ( )

Short and simple for the youngest readers to hear what it might have been like for some people who where in New York during the plane crashes on 9/11/2001. As air travel came to a halt at LaGuardia, the entire nation paused to see and try to understand what was happening to our country. The illustrations symbolize connections to the date and the towers that were destroyed during the attack. Teachers can use the story to explain how this terrorist attack changed the world that day. ( )