Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story

by Joseph Bruchac, Liz Amini-Holmes (Illustrations)

A Junior Library Guild Selection April 2018
2018 Cybils Award Finalist, Elementary Non-Fiction
BRLA 2018 Southwest Book Award
2019 Southwest Books of the Kid Pick
2020 Grand Canyon Award, Nonfiction Nominee
2020-2021 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Master List

STARRED REVIEW! "A perfect, well-rounded historical story that will engage readers of all ages. A perfect, well-rounded historical story that will engage readers of all ages."― Kirkus Reviews starred review

Chester Nez was a boy told to give up his Navajo roots. He became a man who used his native language to help America win World War II. As a young Navajo boy, Chester Nez had to leave the reservation and attend boarding school, where he was taught that his native language and culture were useless. But Chester refused to give up his heritage. Years later, during World War II, Chester―and other Navajo men like him―was recruited by the US Marines to use the Navajo language to create an unbreakable military code. Suddenly the language he had been told to forget was needed to fight a war.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Native American, Indigenous

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2018

About the author

Joseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.

He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.

As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.

Reviews

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to check out another Joseph Bruchac book after enjoying a middle grade read last year!

I'm so extremely bothered with the manner in which the United States determines what is taught in history classes around the country. While I understand that everything can't be completed within a academic year, there needs to be a more inclusive way in which it is taught that way BIPOC voices are also at the forefront. Prior to reading the biography (picture book) I had no idea that Navajo individuals were responsible for developing an unbreakable code that would be utilized to help defeat the Japanese in WWII. This is such a vital piece of information that is so readily left out our education in regard to WWII. I was a history major in undergrad and I did not know this information until today. It specifically highlights the work of Chester Nez who was sent to a boarding school that appears to be similar to the schools I read about in I Am Not A Number. Forced to forget his language and traditions, Chester Nez was determined to make sure that he stayed true to the Navajo way. When asked to serve in the military Chester viewed America as his country and willingly served.

I think what makes me angry and sad about these stories is that even after the poor treament of the Navajo community and so many other Native groups by the US government, Chester and so many were willing to put their lives on the line and fight for this country. This, my friends, is true patriotism. Imagine still having respect for a country that has done so much wrong to you, but you still find the courage to put your life on the line for that very country. Too many BIPOC individuals have been ignored for the contributions they have made to this country even after their abhorrent treatment at the hands of the US government.

This picture book is definitely one that needs to be read at least one by everyone. I wasn't a huge fan of the artwork. I think the illustrator was going for a more fluid, abstract look and I would have preferred just a little more definition. Overall, this is an extremely informative picture book and I definitely one that I will be passing along to my daughter.

[Almira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very brief look at Chester Nez's early life at Fort Defiance School, how he refused to unlearn his Navajo language, and how he became one of the early Code Talkers that helped win the war in the Pacific against the Japanese forces.

In 2001, Chester received the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor from President George W. Bush for his work during WWII

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1929, when he was only 8 years old, Betoli was removed from his Native family and sent to the Navajo boarding school at Fort Defiance, Arizona, the very same place where Navajos had been held captive in the 1860s by the United States Army, after a forced long walk of 300 miles. At Fort Defiance, Betoli had his long, black hair cut short, was given the English name Chester, and forbidden to speak his native Navajo language. If children were caught speaking Navajo, their mouth would be washed out with yellow soap by a matron.

Every year, Chester returned to his family during the summer and kept his native ways. Then, in 1941, when he was in tenth grade, the United States entered World War II. In 1942, the US Marine Corps visited the Reservation. They wanted men who could speak English and Navajo to develop a code for sending messages that the Japanese codebreakers couldn't figure out. Initially, only 29 Navajos, including Chester, were chosen out of the many who volunteered, forming Platoon 382.

Slowly and methodically, they first developed an alphabet, then a vocabulary of words that wouldn't have to be spelled out each time they were used. So for example, the Navajo word for whale (lo-tso) became the code word for battleship. Once a complete code was developed, it was time to test it out on the battlefield. Chester and the other Navajo code talkers in Platoon 382 were sent to the Pacific Theater, where the code they created helped to finally defeat the Japanese.

Chester returned home after the war, but it had left its mark on him. His family arranged a four day long Enemy Way ceremony to help restore him to the "trail of beauty and the Right Way" so he would not have nightmares about war anymore.

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code is both a wonderful introduction for young readers about the history of the code talkers and of one man's strong determination to maintain his connection to his Navajo heritage no matter what. Bruchac is very familiar with this topic, having previously published a middle grade novel about the code talkers. However, he has successfully synthesized the information about Chester Nez's experience as a Navajo child and man with the history of the Navajo code.

According to the Author's Note, the hundreds of Native American who were code talkers were told to keep their work secret, even from their families, until 1968, when it was declassified and they could finally talk about the important contribution they had made during the war. But it wasn't until December 2000, when the Honoring the Navajo Code Talkers Act was enacted, that they were finally honored and awarded the medals they so rightly deserved.

Liz Amini-Holmes soft-focused, richly textured illustrations are painted in a palette of mainly yellows, blues, and greens that do much to capture the relationship Nez had with his Navajo culture and home, and the pain and loneliness of being taken away to boarding school and later of fighting in the war. They are almost expressionistic in the way they express the emotions Chester must have felt rather than merely depicting the external events he lived through.

Besides the Author's Note, the back matter also includes some of The Navajo Code and a timeline of Chester Nez's life.

Bruchac begins each section of Chester's story with the month and year in which something occurred followed by an unfamiliar description, for example. October 1929: Month of Small Wind or September 1942: Month of Half. At first, I thought perhaps the descriptions were part of the Navajo lunar calendar, but it turns out to be the names of the month in Navajo code. That made me understand even more clearly just why the Japanese were unable to break it.

I highly recommend this picture book for older readers who might be interested in WWII and/or Navajo history.

This book is recommended for readers age 7+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

[Moonkiszt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Chester Nez was one of those heroic people who helped the US to many successes during WWII by assisting with and lending his knowledge and skill at spinning his first language, Navajo, into a code that for a long time was unbroken.

My group was interested, but not to the level I wanted them to be. . .so we dove more deeply into the subject, and I found the problem: information for these new generations is so available, they can hardly even imagine a time when knowledge, especially certain languages, was precious and rare. We had to talk at length, to get over the "what about babelfish" - why not look it up on wikipedia? surely the Japanese could have found Navajo? One more moment that had me shaking my head.

But - we all agreed - Chester and his brothers were, every one, a hero!

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise account of a Navajo Code Talker. This book is accessible to an elementary audience.
The author's note discusses the declassification of the Navajo Code. Also includes a portion of the Navajo code.

"Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" is also a good accunt, but may not be as accessible as an introduction to this piece of history.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Betoli was sent to boarding school at the age of eight, he was given the English name of Chester and told to speak only English and not use his native Navajo language. However, Chester still loved his family and their native language and never gave up speaking Navajo. In 1942, the US Marines Corp needed Navajo men who spoke both languages of English and Navajo to work on a code that would be impossible for the enemy to break. Chester joined the Marines and became part of a platoon of 29 volunteers from his reservation. We learn how the platoon selected Navajo words and helped to create an unbreakable Navajo code that was instrumental to the war effort during World War II. This engaging book contains an Author’s Note and a listing with some of the Navajo Code. This title is on the list of 2021 Bluestem Award nominees and it is available as an e-book on Overdrive and Hoopla.

Reviewed by: Liz Glazer, Youth and School Services, Vernon Area Public Library

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Code Talkers years ago. I would have loved to read it with my class but we don’t have the time. I was happy to find this book which still told the story well enough, and I was able to fill in extra information I remembered from the main book.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Bruchac has written another incredible story about Native Americans. As an Abenaki, he knows the details of the heroic deeds of other Native Americans in this country. He has written 130 books for younger through YA readers. This book takes information from his book for older readers: Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two. This true story about Chester Nez begins when he was sent to boarding school in 1929. He was taught to only speak English and to forget his Navajo language and heritage. Chester does not forget his heritage and when he grows up, he is able to use his language as a Navajo Code Talker, one of the men who helped the United States win World War II in the Pacific. It wasn't until 1968, when the code was declassified and the world knew about their dedication to the United States. In 1982, President Reagan declared August 14 as National Code Talkers Day and in 2000, when President Clinton signed into law an act honoring them. Chester was later able to tell his story in his own book (2011). The illustrator, Liz Amini-Homes has also illustrated the multi-award-winning, Fatty Legs: A True Story and A Stranger at Home. The pictures are soft and expressive in chalk and pastels. This important book is perfect for readers 8+.

[Rummanah (Books in the Spotlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a travesty that a legislation bill was needed in 2000 in order to recognize the Navajo code talkers. Unbelievable.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely and thoughtful book introducing bravery and courage and self sacrifice. Great Read!

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up, because even though I wasn't wowed, I thought the presentation of the boarding school and the harsh treatment of Native American children was handled well. I also liked how the basis of the school was proven wrong and how important the Navajos' language was in America's winning of the war.

The story of Chester Nez and his treatment in boarding school and his recruitment to be a Navajo Code-Talker in WWII. Author's Note mentions how the Navajo code talkers kept their role secret until the code was declassified 29 years later. I didn't realize there was a National Code Talkers Day (8/14) and that the original 23 code talkers were given gold medals, later ones were given silver.

Bruchac also includes a portion of the code and a timeline.

[Danni Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a clear and detailed history of a Navajo code talker’s life. It is very wordy for a picture book of its size, so it would likely be best received by a child who is very interested in history and/or has a lengthy attention span. It addresses the harm of colonialist violence against Indigenous people (specifically Navajo people) in many ways; however one element that seemed missing was that it portrays the weaponization of the Navajo language as a positive thing that mutually benefitted Navajo people and the US military, addressing the harmfulness of this action only on the individual level of how it was painful for the code talkers to have to keep it a secret, but without addressing the harm to their community or their language, or to people in countries under attack by the US military as a result of this weaponization. Overall a well-done, well-researched book; while it may not hold the attention of its target audience as a read-aloud book, it could be quite useful in researching Native American history, especially if paired with more investigation and discussion on the topics that this book missed.

[Chandler Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chester Nez began his life as Betoli, living on a Navajo reservation with his family and their goats and sheep. When he was eight years old, Betoli was sent off to an English language boarding school. Even at such a young age, Betoli understood he would ultimately be living in a white man’s world and that required a certain kind of education. The missionaries running Fort Defiance School decided Betoli needed a new name and he was rechristened as Chester. Chester’s long hair was shaved and he was told, “Navajo is bad! Speak only English!” Any time Chester reverted to his native language, his mouth was washed out with soap.
Even though the school was named after a fort where the US Army had held Navajos captive in the 1860s, the name proved especially fitting to Chester’s experiences. He knew that speaking English was essential to his success but he never lost his love for the Navajo people and their language. He was determined to keep his Navajo language alive and his personal mission of bilingualism stood in direct contrast to the teachings of the missionaries who emphasized full assimilation for their students.
In December 1941, when Chester was in tenth grade, news broke that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Recruiters from the Marine Corps came to the Navajo reservation looking for men who could speak both English and Navajo. The Marines came with a plan to utilize the Navajo language in sending secret coded messages. Surely, no Japanese soldiers were fluent in Navajo and, besides, Navajo was a language almost impossible for non-Navajos to speak. One would think that the number of Navajo men meeting the Marines’ requirements would be small given Fort Defiance School’s “Navajo bad” policy, but in a true act of defiance, at least twenty-nine men (including Chester) were up to the task – by the end of the war, more than 400 Navajos had served as code talkers. Chester and the first twenty-nine Navajos became Platoon 382 and they were given the incredible challenge of creating an unbreakable code. The basic premise for the code was to choose one word for each letter of the English alphabet. Beginning with an English word for each letter, like bear for the letter B, they then chose Navajo words that best matched the English words (bear = shush). When the Platoon was finished, they delivered a code that was stronger and more efficient than any the Marines had used before. Finally, the language Chester was told to forget as a young boy was getting some respect.
Chester and a majority of Platoon 382 were shipped out to the Pacific theater to provide communication support on the battlefield. Chester relied on Navajo traditions of prayer to find the strength to survive the horrors he saw in combat. He was plagued by a loneliness he had not felt since he first started at boarding school. He was told once again that he had to keep his Navajo language a secret because the code was classified information. After Japanese surrendered and Chester returned home, his family arranged an Enemy Way for him, a “four-day-long ceremony to help someone exposed to the evil of war.” The same ceremony had been used for children returning from Fort Defiance School, suggesting Navajo children like Chester experienced almost nothing but distress in their young lives. For Chester, the Enemy Way ceremony returned him to the trail of beauty where he kept his feet firmly planted, satisfied with the defiance he had shown to everyone who looked down on his heritage.
Joseph Bruchac, with his own Native American heritage, uses few words to tell Chester’s incredible story. Instead, he allows Liz Amini-Holmes’ emotionally charged paintings to take center stage, illuminating a part of Chester’s psyche that no words could communicate. The Navajo reservation is primarily depicted with bright lighting and a good mix of oranges, yellows, and blues, while the school and the battlefield are much darker neutral greens and grays. In moments of extreme trauma, such as Chester’s school haircut and the nightmares of school and war, Amini-Homes finds emotional expression in the bodies of animals. Crows with glowing red eyes strip Chester of the hair that defines his Navajo identity and haunt the students’ dreams as representations of the white enemy; sharks and whales, pieces of the Navajo code, fill Chester’s postwar nightmares as the battles continue to rage in his mind. Although language is often a central part of one’s identity, Amini-Holmes presents nearly all of the figures with no remarkable facial features and in some of the images, it is nearly impossible to identify Chester. Her paintings emphasize Chester’s lived experiences while Bruchac’s narrative focuses on Chester’s identity. Together, Bruchac and Amini-Holmes deliver a very full biography in a few short pages. It becomes clear after reading the small portion of the Navajo code included at the end of the book that Bruchac cleverly incorporated a small amount of it into his text, prompting a second read for more hidden gems. His author’s note and timeline offer additional information about Chester’s postwar life and what happened to the Navajo code after World War II. We learn that Chester became representative of all the code talkers because he was the last survivor of the original twenty-nine and, therefore, the only one able to share his story. Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code proves that there are still new stories to be found in the vastness of World War II and the book is sure to appeal to young and old historians alike.

IL: MG BL: 4.8 AR Pts: 0.5 AR Quiz: RP

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not Marxist/Communist/whatever to tell the truth about history. Chester was an American hero. He loved the United States and wanted to fight for his country while still maintaining his Navajo identity.

This book may not be best suited for the very young. It's honest and descriptive about the Indian boarding schools. Some of the illustrations are a little frightening for sensitive children. There are illustrations that reflect Chester's impressions of having his hair cut, the nightmares other children had and scenes of war.

When Bertoli was 8 years old he was taken away from his family and Navajo community by missionaries and sent to a boarding school where he was given a new name, a haircut and forbidden to speak his own language. When he spoke Navajo he was told it was bad and had his mouth washed out with soap. The school was at Fort Defiance, the start of the "Long Walk" in the 1860s when the U.S. Army forced the Navajo off their homeland to walk 300 miles to what is now New Mexico. Some children in the school had trauma from the past history of the site. Chester helped calm the children and remind them of their families back home.

In summer he went home and returned to the traditional ways. Being home took away the loneliness he felt at school. Chester became determined to learn to live in the White man's world AND follow the Right Way, the Navajo way of life. Censors might object to the belief that Chester thought the Catholic way was good but the Navajo way was good also. When the U.S. entered WWII, Chester knew he was a warrior ready to defend the United States, HIS country, a country he loved, in spite of everything he went through.

The story discusses how the Navajo Code Talkers created their "secret" code from Navajo words for English words and sometimes using Navajo symbols that represented the word, like using the word for eggs instead of bombs. This is fascinating and I appreciated all the details included in this book and the glossary in the back.

In the midst of combat, Chester always remembered to pray in Navajo, using corn pollen. His prayers gave him strength until he was sent home. However, once he was home, the loneliness he experienced at school returned because the G.I.s and Code Talkers were not allowed to discuss their experiences. His family arranged a traditional Navajo ceremony to help someone exposed to the evils of war (or trauma of boarding school).

There is a lengthy author's note in back with a notation to read Chester's autobiography for adults Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII. The Navajo Code is also included in the back.

His story is so interesting and I really like how he held to his culture's beliefs while also being a patriotic American. This story is long but it's not enough! It covers how Chester felt some of the time but of course the picture book format is limiting. I'll have to check out his memoir.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story is a children's picture book written by Joseph Bruchac and illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes. It is a biographical picture book of Chester Nez – a marine who was one of the original Navajo code talkers during World War II.

November, at least in my part of the world is Native American Heritage Month, which I plan to read one children's book, preferably a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.

Chester Nez was an American veteran of World War II. He was the last original Navajo code talker who served in the United States Marine Corps during the war.

Bruchac text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. The narrative dares to go beyond the war in highlighting the postwar trauma that Chester experienced, demonstrated in a beautiful yet haunting illustration that symbolically captures his pain. A partial key-code, timeline, and additional author’s note could be found in the backmatter. Amini-Holmes' textured paintings, which resonate on an almost ethereal level wonderfully depicts the narrative.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Like many Native American children, Betoli, a Navajo boy, was taken from his family to a missionary boarding school, where he was forbidden to speak Navajo and forced to change his name to Chester. As he got older, Chester adapted as best he could to the forced assimilation. He joined the military during World War II and became one of the first Code Talkers, who used their own language to undermine the Japanese, efforts that helped to end the war.

All in all, Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker's Story is a wonderful biographical picture book about the life and times of Chester Nez – a Navajo Marine code talker.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes after I read a book, I am amazed at how the characters stayed sane or how they made it through to the other side and managed to still have love in their hearts for others, this is one of those books. Bruchac tells the story of Chester Nez and the Navajo children (and their families by extension) and then as time progresses, the story of our country through WWII and the Navajo Code Talkers.

There were times when I had to stop reading this and just let the words and the pictures sink in; this is a very moving book. It is told simply, and could be read to upper elementary-aged children, but it deals with some very tough topics: bullying and really horribly racism. I wish that I could just stand up sometimes and apologize on behalf of white people and rewind time and make the right choices that should have been made. I worry that I offend when I say things and do things because I am white, because I have white privilege. I try to teach my children to choose kindness, and when I read a book like this and I wonder, "what to do to say I'm sorry for past mistakes? is there any atonement?" Sorry, rambling here...the mom in me is horrified knowing that children were forcibly taken away from their families and not allowed to speak their own languages, and that they were told such evil things, and such evil things was done to them...

Moving on, read this. It's powerful, and amazing, and the healing contained here is incredible. The art is amazing. I loved how the Navajo was woven throughout the story, in the timeline, and how the code was explained (more detail is given at the end of the book!).

[Reshamad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a non fiction picture book biography of Chester Nez. Chester was born into the Navajo culture as Betoli. When we turned 8, he was sent to a boarding school and given the name Chester. The boarding school was designed to "teach" children like Chester the ways of the white man. That meant leaving behind language and culture and learning to speak English and practice Catholicism.
Chester learned to speak English, he also learnt to pray the Catholic way and saw that there was goodness in this religion. But he did not forget or give up on his Navajo ways. He spoke English in school but his love for the people, language and culture in his heart and never broke those ties.

Then WWII happened. The military codes were been broken by the Japanese. The military decided they needed a solid code, one that no one could break. A former army soldier had known about the Navajo language and recommended to try Navajo for communications. Chester finally had a chance to use his language to serve the country. Along with other volunteers, Chester and his platoon created the unbreakable code that was used until the war was over.

An important subject and piece of history for readers to know. "Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code" is written in a straight forward manner. The soft oil paints, muted colors and depiction of the cultural symbols adds context to the language. Author has included a note on Chester's life after the WWII until his death in 2014. A timeline and the Navajo code is also included for the curious reader.

Highly recommend reading !

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fascinating biography of Chester Nez focuses on the secret code the United States Navy used to communicate abroad. Although historically the U.S. did little to support the rights of the Navajo, they desperately needed their help in World War II to create an indecipherable code. None of their previous codes worked, yet they had heard the Navajo codes were unbreakable. Chester Nez a young bright Navajo young man, who had been forced to attend a non Indian school for his education, was an accomplised student and well educated. He was a 10th grader in 1942 when he was recruited by the military to be a member of the first group of 29 Navajo Indians in Platoon 382, to create an undecipherable Navajo Code. Using the alphabet and Navajo words to represent the code, they created an inpenetrable code. This biography credits a spiritual Native American ceremony for restoring Chester from the evils of war he experienced in combat that almost devastated him. Chester Nez's strong Navajo upbringing and culture, allowed him to accomplish a feat no Non-Indian person could create. The author's note at the end explains the true story of Chester Nez, making this title a great research tool as well as exciting biography. A timeline, and part of the Navajo Code is included in the back. This book will fly off the library shelves, for students interested in World War II, deciphering codes, and learning about Chester Nez.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Bruchac's books have taught me much about Native Americans, and I am glad to share this new picture book that will be a marvelous introduction to Chester Nez for younger readers. Bruchac has previously written a book about this same topic for middle-grade readers and up.
Like so many Native Americans, Chester Nez left his home, his reservation to attend boarding school where he was forced to abandon his heritage and language in order to integrate with the white culture and to learn English. He refused to give up! Years later, that decision turned out to be a good one, for Chester and other Navajo men like him were recruited by the US Marines to use their native language to create an unbreakable military code. That language they were told to forget was needed to fight the war, and it worked!
Many full-page illustrations include Chester's early and close connection to home and family, shown in Amini-Holmes’ textured art, both emotional and sometimes seeming other-worldly, with a touching double-spread showing his feelings when he returned home from the terrible experiences in the war.
The backmatter includes a timeline and a portion of the Navajo code, and also depicts the life of an original Navajo code talker while capturing the importance of heritage.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code is a nonfiction, picture book that introduces young readers to the Navajo Code Talkers. Chester was the last surviving of the original 29 codetalkers. This book begins when he is 8 years old and being forced to attend residential school. He has his hair cut off, his clothes taken from him and forced to wear a uniform, and to stop speaking the Navajo language. He was able to survive what was done to him and was able to comfort others. The book shares his life training to be a code talker, serving in the South Pacific, returning home and dealing with PTSD, and touching on his profession as a commercial artist. There is an author's note sharing some other facts not included in the book as well as a timeline and glossary sharing some of the code. I think this is a good introduction for children about the Navajo people and some of their history, as well as how they served the US during WW2. The one thing that I find the most ironic is that the language they were forced not to speak and were constantly told was worthless, is one that helped the US to win the war against Japan. The illustrations by Liz Amini-Holmes were stylized and represented what was going on in the story. What surprised me was that they did not use an indigenous artist for the illustrations.

[LaVonne Hanlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gr. 2-5. Like most Navajo children who were forced into boarding schools in the first part of the 20th century, Chester Nez was scolded and told his native language was worthless. But with the advent of the second World War and the need to find codes to prevent the Japanese from accessing U.S. messages, Chester found his language – and his services – were indisputably valuable. Joining an elite platoon of “code talkers,” Chester and other Navajo recruits helped radio commands to American military units that were vital to winning the war. Joseph Bruchac, author of the middle grade classic Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two and a score of folktales celebrating Native culture, has created a picture book masterpiece that will bring the story of these brave soldiers to a new audience. An author’s note, timeline, and two-page spread translating major Navajo words to English greatly enhances Bruchac’s work. Find support materials at Reading Is Fundamental’s “Literacy Central’s” website at https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/... or check Albert Whitman & Co.’s teacher’s guide at https://www.albertwhitman.com/book/ch... for more activities.

[Kyra Nay · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1929, at the tender age of 8, Betoli left his family to attend the Fort Defiance boarding school, where his Navajo identity was nearly stripped from him. He was renamed Chester, forced to speak English, and punished for speaking Navajo. Despite long school years away from his family and people, Chester managed to keep tied to his culture, including his language. He volunteered for a special assignment from the U.S. Marine Corps in WWII, joining Platoon 382, which developed a code based on Navajo. The code was never broken and proved instrumental in winning the war. Bruchac writes with a profound tenderness and a deep respect for his subject, while the illustrations are beautiful. The final page ends with these lines “Despite being told to give up his Navajo language and culture, he found ways to merge them with the white mans world. His spirit stayed unbroken. He kept his feet on the trail of beauty.” I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets honored by the American Indian Library Association, which will be included during the 2019 YMA for the first time. A must-read.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I hear about the Code Talkers and the amazing work they did I am awed. Our country tried everything to eliminate them and eliminate their culture and beliefs and yet when it could be useful to our country, all of a sudden Navajo language was a good thing. The more I learn about indigenous Americans and all they had to endure, the more I realize that our country's growth is so much darker than the history books tell us. I hope that the sacrifice and the bravery of the Code Talkers is shared with more people so that their story can be told and the men recognized as heroes beyond others. They, like black Americans, chose to be part of the "bigger" good despite the fact that our country never gave them a reason to in the past. This book should definitely be part of any WWII unit to give an introduction to this important group of people.

[Cornmaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent picture book biography of a Navajo Code Talker from WWII. I loved the way it emphasized the abuse Navajo children suffered when told they could only speak English. Such an irony when the Navajo language became necessary in the war effort.

I had no idea there were over 400 Code Talkers, nor did I know how the process worked, so this was very informative. Bruchac as a member of the Abenaki nation was a perfect choice to do this book, especially because of his long history of bringing Native American stories to the rest of the world.

The Code itself is included in the back matter, along with a timeline and a more info on Nez after the War. We owe a debt to him and his fellow Code Talkers, and I am glad kids will be able to learn this early.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that Bruchac adapted this story for younger readers! This is the incredible true story of a people group persecuted and told to forget their language and culture. In a few short years, their language became vital in creating a code that could not be broken by the Japanese in WWII. Although this is a picture book, it does not shy away from darker topics like PTSD, so be sure that your little ones can handle it before sharing this story with them. Nez held on to his language and his culture, and later his culture was key in breaking him through his depression. He also became an artist later in his life, so this could be told as an artists story (although that part in the picture book isn't talked about much.)

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about Chester Nez as a Navajo (Dineh) person who became known as one of the makers of the code used in WWII in the Pacific theater. The story places him centrally in his tribe, emphasizing how important his family and culture were both through the words and through the style and content of the illustrations. The picture of his hair as birds flying away when it was shorn at the bigoted boarding school he attended as a child vividly shows the pressure put on the kids. I liked the way these details were shown from the inside, as part of the world, not as an exotic thing this strange guy did. And I appreciated the way it touched on his problems recovering from the violence after the way and how his family dealt with that.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a young Navajo boy, Chester Nez had to leave the reservation and attend boarding school, where he was taught that his native language and culture were useless. But Chester refused to give up his heritage. Years later, during World War II, Chester—and other Navajo men like him—was recruited by the US Marines to use the Navajo language to create an unbreakable military code. Suddenly the language he had been told to forget was needed to fight a war. This powerful picture book biography contains backmatter including a timeline and a portion of the Navajo code, and also depicts the life of an original Navajo code talker while capturing the importance of heritage.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A picture book biography of Chester Nez, one of the original 29 Navajo men recruited by the US military to create an unbreakable code for use during WWII.

This manages to portray the hardship and horror of going to war without scarring kids. It also conveys the sense of irony that the language people tried to drill out of Native American children sent to boarding schools was one of the things that helped save the Allied forces. The Navajo code that the men developed for the military is in the back of the book. It also has recommendations for further reading about Code Talkers. Recommended for those studying Navajo history, WWII, or codes.

[Stefanie Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chester was a Navajo kid named Betoli until he was 8 and sent to boarding school. That's when the missionary in charge changed his name to Chester. In the boarding school they were only allowed to speak English and were taught that the Navajo language was bad. After several years, America joined WWII. The American Military came to the Navajo Reservation to recruit Navajo people to create a secret code for the military. Now the Navajo language wasn't bad, it was saving lives. Excellent, engaging story with a timeline, Author's Note and the code in the back. Best for 3rd and up.

[Megan Bogle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copyright: 2018
Genre: Biography
Themes: Native American boarding schools, Identity, Diversity, Language, World War II
This is a great book! Betoli (Chester) is a Navajo boy who has to go to boarding school to be assimilated into American culture. Even though he was told that his language was worthless, Betoli's (Chester's) language was needed to help in World War II. This book could be used in the classroom to teach students about valuing cultures, Native American boarding schools, or World War II.