Code Word Courage

Gr 4–6—A story of loneliness, loss, friendship, and identity set near the end of World War II. Readers meet 11-year-old Billie and see her struggle with the loss of her parents, her brother joining the Marines, and her best friend, Hazel, rejecting her. When her brother Leo comes to visit before shipping out, he brings his friend and fellow recruit, Denny, a member of the Navajo Nation. They also bring along Bear, an abandoned dog. Chapters from Denny and Bear offer readers different points of view. Denny's narrative focuses on his training as a Code Talker and his own struggle balancing his identity as a Navajo and a Marine. Denny experiences prejudice because of his ethnicity, as depicted in a scene in which he and Leo struggle to hitch a ride. Later, during a battle, Bear's spirit appears to Denny and guides him to safety; the book offers little context or information about Navajo spiritual beliefs and this scene may reinforce stereotypes about Native people. In an author's note, Larson describes a bit about her research and the interviews she conducted with several living Code Talkers.