The Little Fireboat That Could

Read Maira Kalman has written and illustrated  more than a dozen  books, for children and adults. In the months following 9/11, when a friend suggested she write a book about the attacks, she said, “Absolutely not. I’m in the world of humor. This is a very sad story and it’s very intense and I don’t want to deal with it.”
However, within a year, she published Fireboat,  a children’s book. It’s a true story about a real boat in New York’s harbor. The book starts when the boat was new, the 1930s, and Kalman includes lovely period details about life in the city – the new Empire State Building, the new Snickers bar. The boat ages gracefully and is retired. But then the story turns to September 11, 2001, when the old fireboat  is pressed into service to help  fight  the fires at Ground Zero.
Kalman explains to Kurt Andersen, “it really talks to kids about how horrific things can happen – and will happen. So what do you do?”
  
  
Slideshow: Scenes from Maira Kalman’s Fireboat