PROPHETSTOWN, Ill. -- If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these students have written a full book about how Sept. 11 affected them.

"A Tribute to America" by Prophetstown High School art students started as a simple sketchbook assignment last semester, but since has evolved into a multimedia Web presentation.

"Right after Sept. 11, the kids were like sponges," art teacher Bob Deines said. "They wanted information. They came in and they wanted to express themselves, so I gave them a sketchbook assignment. I was really impressed with what they turned in."

But the sketchbook assignment wasn't enough, so the students started to learn Photoshop. They scanned their pencil drawings and used the computer software to add color and effects.

When they finished their Photoshops, there was still a need to do more, Deines said. They wanted to explain why they did it. The students wrote an explanation to accompany their artwork. They could include an introductory statement or poem, a discussion of their artwork, how they were affected by Sept. 11 and any other comments they wanted to add.

"Because of the success in it, we made it the final exam," Deines said.

Each student had to create a Web page for his artwork and submit it to the schools virtual art museum.

"We put it on the Internet so other people can see it, Deines said. "It would be selfish if we kept it for ourselves. To say that I'm proud of what they did is an understatement. When you read what they said, it makes your hair stand up.

"People don't give kids credit -- what they have to say is profound and meaningful," he said.

Some of the artwork shows a theme of madness or chaos. Other pieces illustrate freedom and patriotism. All reflect the emotions of the students who created the work.

"Whenever I do a piece of work I put emotion into it," Ashlie Niccoli said. "In pretty much everything I've seen, that's what everyone did. It was how they felt. It made me appreciate art as far as a form of expression."

Here's what another student, Brittani Proulx, had to say on how her life has changed since Sept. 11: "My Dad's in the Navy. I didn't like to talk about it. Nobody else's dad went and left like mine. I expressed it through writing and art."

It was a lesson beyond learning Photoshop skills.

"I think you're making a connection now about art and society," Deines told the student. "You're seeing it through history."