[This Week's Day] I read a picture book I wanted to gift to 6th graders at their elementary school

A tightrope walk, 400 meters above the ground.

On the rope, he felt happy and was free.

It is sunny this morning, and Mount Fuji was clearly visible from the 6th-grade classroom. Hello, this is Kyokuya.



My daughter's elementary school is currently having its reading week.
I went to volunteer for a read-aloud session.


There are only two opportunities left to read to the 6th graders. In the final month of March, it is easy for people (both the children and the parents reading) to be absent due to poor health. Therefore, I requested to do it in November, when there is less illness, and was allowed to take charge of my eldest daughter's 6th-grade class.

"I want my mom to read this book in my class"
This was to fulfill my eldest daughter's wish.


It is my eldest daughter's favorite picture book.
"The Man Who Walked Between the Towers"
Written by Mordicai Gerstein
Translated by Saburo Kawamoto

The street performer Philippe Petit's favorite stunt is to walk and dance on a rope stretched between two trees.
One day, he was drawn to the Twin Towers in Manhattan, which were nearly complete and reached 400 meters above the ground, and decided to walk a tightrope between them.

Wait a minute, please.

...What is this, this 'because it's there' kind of thinking?
Certainly, with his presumably perfect technique, it might be possible.

The problem is not the technique.
First, that act is a crime.
Second, Philippe is a human being of flesh and blood.

Therefore, if one were sane, one would not do such a thing. One would not let them do it.

That much is obvious. That is why he prepares in secret.
He even has accomplices.

And he succeeds.
He spends the whole night preparing, and the next morning, watched by the police and the crowds on the ground, he spends an hour on a 2-centimeter-wide rope.
The wind and the birds in the sky seem to be blessing him.
For him, it is a moment of supreme bliss.

The setting of the story is the World Trade Center. It is the Twin Towers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which no longer exist. With a sense of mourning, this is a work that grandly depicts an event that truly happened at the nearly completed Twin Towers. It is a Caldecott Medal winner. Although it is a place of sad memories, that wonderful morning of the story's protagonist, Philippe Petit, must be a wonderful memory of the Twin Towers.

Towards the end of this book, it is written that the Twin Towers are no longer there.
However, when you turn the page,

The two towers remain in people's memories,
as does that wonderful morning when Philippe walked between the towers.

...That is how it ends.

I was quite lost on how I should read it.
I decided to follow the way the last page ends.
The final picture shows the rope and Philippe between the Twin Towers.


I will convey the fact that the terrorist attack happened, but I want them to feel something about the way Philippe lived his life, which is the focus of the story.
I decided to read it with that feeling in mind.

Of course, it would be a problem if people actually did what Philippe did (bitter laugh), but Philippe's actions did not make anyone unhappy. As far as I am concerned, this is acceptable.

Children do not all have to fit into one mold. I want them to pursue happiness on the paths they each believe in. I want them to know that the path they take is free.

Now, the children's reactions while I was reading.
By the time they are in the upper grades, there is not much reaction in terms of speaking out loud.
Even so, it was my eldest daughter's class. I could tell they were very interested (laughs).
Everyone stopped moving and stared at the book.
Next, even without saying anything, their faces and mouths were shaped like 'Whoa?', 'Oh!', 'Wow!'
At the same time, their posture gradually shifted to leaning forward.
When it ended, they let out a sigh of 'Whew.'
When I closed the book, I received applause.

Actually, the homeroom teacher's reaction was the best (laughs).



I was able to keep my promise to my eldest daughter.
I hope today's read-aloud will be a source of strength for my eldest daughter someday.



It is almost time for my eldest daughter to come home.
I wonder what she will say.

Thank you for reading.