Saved By The Boats

Saved By The Boats

Juvenile nonfiction
"While more than one million people searched for escape,
hundreds of boat captains sailed into the destruction. They felt a
call to action, a desire to help, a realization that they could
provide a safe harbor. They were ordinary people who became heroes on
a day when greatness was desperately needed.
A day when the unthinkable had happened."
September 11, 2001 Julie Gassman dropped her son off at day care
in New Jersey and commuted to Manhattan by underground train. As she
arrived at her workplace she heard about the planes that hit and
destroyed the World Trade Center towers. The subways shut down. She
and her husband took a boat to New Jersey to take their child home.
Ten years later she received a link to Boatlift, a documentary.
She then saw the scope of the evacuation she had benefitted from.
History's largest sea evactuation transported almost 500,000 people to
safety! Fortunately for us, she shared this little known part of 9/11
history in Saved By The Boats.
Steve Moors' unusual illustrations are very effective in helping
convey the atmosphere in which the incident took place. Extremely
detailed line drawings are fleshed out in only black, grey, white,
beige, cream, and aqua. The absence of the full color spectrum
creates a sense of suspense and draws the eye to the very expressive
human faces.
Our children are constantly exposed to commercial superheroes
and the lines of merchandise by which corporations exploit their
loyalty. We need a lot more narratives like Saved By The Boats that
celebrate the valor of the "ordinary" human--a valor they can
incorporate into their lives, on the playground as well as in adulthood.
On a personal note, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I know I am really
looking forward to time with my children. Although gratitude is an
integral part of my daily life, I am very grateful for an occassion
that brings families together.
A great big shout out goes out to you, my readers, with best wishes
for safe travel if that's involved and a wonderful celebration with a
lot to be thankful for. If your special day contains an element of
detente (temporary coexistence with kin with views an abyss apart from
yours) I wish you good luck. You are very far from alone.
jules hathaway


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