Some second-graders from southesat Missouri will ring the bell at the New York Stock exchange tomorrow morning because of the book they wrote about “the day after.” They were first graders at an elementary school in Kennett the day the terrorists hit. When the Scholastic Book Company started a contest to have kids write about those events, teacher Darlene Robertson in Kennett put her children to work on a book that is now published as “September 12th; We Knew Everything Would Be All Right.” She wanted her children to realize that hope emerges from terrible tragedy, that familiar and comforting routines awaited them the next day. Only two pages talk about September 11th. The rest carries a message for small children – that when things happen that area bad, the world is still safe. The children, now second-graders, were flown to New York yesterday. Tomorrow, they’ll ring the bell at the stock exchange. And then on this September 12th, they’ll be back in the comfort of their school where ceremonies will be held recognizing them as published authors, young people who have written about the days of hope that have come after the day of despair.
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