Descriptions, Reviews, etc.
Description:
"A solemn and respectful reminder to younger readers of what was paid and what is owed." --School Library Journal (starred review)
The team behind Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier join forces to create a touching companion book honoring military veterans and the program that keeps their contribution alive.
Located in our nation's capital are monuments dedicated to the service members who fought in the last century's wars. Visitors line up to gaze at the Iwo Jima Memorial, stark against the sky; the solemn Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; the national World War II Memorial with its circle of unity; the Korean War Veterans Memorial; and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, engraved with tens of thousands of names. It is here that the Honor Flight program has brought some 300,000 aging veterans, all of them deserving a chance to see their commitment and sacrifice honored and commemorated. Told in the voice of an anonymous veteran, Jeff Gottesfeld's first-person narrative conveys the emotional impact of a visit that not only encompasses a tour of the monuments but also includes moving tributes from friends and schoolchildren and ends with the kind of welcome home that some of the veterans had never received. Matt Tavares's striking illustrations bring readers close to both Washington's timeless monuments and the veterans whose role in history will never be forgotten. An afterword and notes from the author provide more information for curious readers.
Review Quotes: A solemn and respectful reminder to younger readers of what was paid and what is owed--with strong emotions and a few well-placed dashes of vinegar to counter any incipient sentimentality.
--School LibraryJournal (starred review)
[A] touching work. . . . Written by an honor flight volunteer and supported by substantial back matter, this unique and fitting tribute shines.
--Booklist (starred review)
[Gottesfeld's] firsthand experiences comes through in the text's specificity and intensity. . . . Tavares brings his whole heart to the quietly masterful pencil and digitally colored images, from dignified elders using mobility devices to proud portrayals of the racially diverse veterans.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
In a hyperrealistic style that mimics photography's sharp detail and bold lighting, pencil-drawn and digitally colored illustrations pay powerful homage.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
[A] stirring tribute to the armed forces. . . . The pencil-drawn and digitally painted illustrations capture both the emotional arc of the story and the tour of the various memorials.
--The Horn Book
