Faces of Hope 10 Years Later: Babies Born on 9/11 by Christine Pisera Naman

September 11, 2001 was a terrible day that saw terrorist attacks shake the United States.Millions of people watched in horror as the day unfolded. Many people, though, had other things on their mind: bringing new life into the world. September 11, 2001 was the birth day for thousands of new babies who had no idea about the world they were coming into. These children are now ten years old. In a follow up book to one that looked at babies born on 9/11, Christine Pisera Naman invites us to get to know these children, their hopes, and their dreams.

I've thought about people who have a birthday on September 11, but I hadn't really considered the children who were born on that day. It was very interesting to see how they see America and what they want to do when they grow up. It appears that they were asked "how will they make the world a better place?" Their answers cover everything from green living, helping kids and taking care of animals to teaching, hairdressing, being a mom, bus driving, and serving in the military. The military and war are present in a lot of the accompanying pictures (also drawn by the kids). The book is dedicated to Christina Taylor Green, one of the children featured in the original book. Christina was the youngest victim of the Arizona shooting at Rep. Gabrielle Gifford's political event in January 2011.

One small thing that bothered me was that the book referred to the fifty children featured in this book; with two sets of twins, there are actually 52. This happened at least twice, once on the back cover and once in the dedication to Christina Taylor Green. (I am reading from an advanced copy, so there is a chance that this will be changed in the final version). Also, I wish there was something that let us know what the kids had been asked to draw. The drawings were so similar in some ways that I thought there must have been a direction for them, but even if there wasn't, it would have been nice to know that. Still, this books manages to honour and commemorate the tragedy of September 11, 2001 while looking forward with hope and possibility.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
Faces of Hope: Babies Born on 9/11 by Christine Pisera Naman
Caterpillar Kisses by Christine Pisera Naman
Dog Heroes of September 11th by Nona Kilgore Bauer