Seven and a Half Tons of Steel

Nolan, Janet. Seven and a Half Tons of Steel. Illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers, 2016.

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel tells a part of the 9-11 story that I was not aware of. One of the huge beams from the World Trade Center was transported to Louisiana and made into the bow of the USS New York. Seven and a Half Tons of Steel tells the story of what it took to make the beam into part of the ship. Janet Nolan has certainly found a good story and transformed it into a great book for children. Because of the depiction of the airplane hitting the World Trade Center and the smokey aftermath, even though it is a picture book, Seven and a Half Tons of Steel is more appropriate for older elementary or middle school students.

Illustrator Thomas Gonzalez used pastel, colored pencil, and watercolor to create his artwork. He does a great job of depicting the information in the text, even going beyond to show what happened even if those details are not included in the text.

Seven and a Half Tons of Steel is on this year’s Land of Enchantment List and I will be adding it to the school library. I recommend this book for all school libraries, even if you are not participating in the Land of Enchantment Awards.

Seven and a Half of Tons of Steel is available from Amazon.

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