Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember

Told in the voices of young people, a novel in verseabout the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.“A powerful,humanistic look at the aftermath of a national tragedy, and an importantpurchase for modern collections.”—School Library JournalOn September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. One hundred and eighty-fourinnocent people were killed. The event occurred at 9:37 a.m. and was part of acoordinated terrorist attack against the United States involving four hijackedflights.Author Jacqueline Jules, who was a school librarian inArlington, Virginia on 9/11, tells the story of that day through a tapestry ofpoems. These poems tell the stories of young people from all aspects of the Arlingtonand Pentagon communities and are composites drawn from personal experienceswith students and friends residing in Northern Virginia at the time of theattack.September 11th changed childhoods. Anyone old enough toremember that day will never forget, but today's children need to be told the story.Excerpt:My teacher, Mr. Peters, stops mid-sentence, steps sideways to lean over the monitor on his desk. His mouth drops open. He looks like a fish gulping air. The room stays silent until he finally speaksto say something about planeshitting New York and us."The Pentagon is on fire," he says. First of its kind book about the attack on the Pentagon for kidsA novel in verse, inviting young readers to feel the emotions of the time.Each poem reflecting a different young person and a different part of the timeline.Written by award-winning author and poet, Jacqueline Jules.