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)

A tribute to the memory of September 11

On September 11, 2001, two sisters from South Africa are flying to New York City with 2,400 roses to be displayed at a flower show. As their plane approaches the airport, a cloud of black smoke billows over the Manhattan skyline. When they land, they learn of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. All flights are canceled; the sisters cannot go home, and they are stranded with boxes and boxes of roses.

In the days that followed September 11, Jeanette Winter was drawn to Union Square and saw, among the hundreds of memorial offerings, twin towers made of roses. In the pages of this small and vibrant book, she tells a moving story.