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Description
A touching and respectful tribute to military veterans, this picture book follows an aging veteran on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice.
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.
Publication date
March 03, 2026
Genre
Non-fiction
Page Count
40
ISBN-13
9781536230154
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Series
America's Military Tributes
BISAC categories
JNF025130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Military & Wars JNF025260 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Symbols, Monuments, National Parks, Etc. JNF026130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Holidays & Celebrations | Patriotic Holidays
Kirkus
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.
Booklist
Starred Review
[A] touching work. . . . Written by an honor flight volunteer and supported by substantial back matter, this unique and fitting tribute shines.
The Horn Book
[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.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review
A U.S. veteran narrates a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the military memorials of Washington, D.C., in a deeply felt picture book from the previous collaborators that highlights the work of Honor Flight--a volunteer-run program that takes veterans to the U.S. capitol. Often speaking in a collective we, a nameless narrator tells readers, "Call me Kilroy. Squid. G.I. Joe. Airman, Jarhead, WAC or WAVE. I'm an aging veteran of the United States Armed Forces" before acknowledging actions taken "as warriors" and "as peacemakers." Some veterans, matter-of-fact text contextualizes, "came home to joy, others to curses. Some never came home." And as time moves forward, "death does not frighten us.... What scares us is being forgotten." When a phone call proffers an Honor Flight invitation, the narrator regards it as a "final mission." And as the protagonist and assigned companion tour locales including the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they connect with other veterans, forging new memories and a feeling of shared purpose. In a hyperrealistic style that mimics photography's sharp detail and bold lighting, pencil-drawn and digitally colored illustrations pay powerful homage. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Includes extensive back matter. Ages 7-10. (Mar.)
Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
School Library Journal
Starred Review
Gr 2-4--With the same reverence that characterizes their Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Gottesfeld and Tavares pay tribute to veterans and the volunteer organization that offers free "Honor Flights" to the oldest still living veteransa who served in World War II, Korea, or the Vietnam era. These flights allow them to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C. Assuming the voice of a generic vet--"Call me Kilroy. Squid, G.I. Joe, Airman, Jarhead, WAC, or WAVE"--Gottesfeld describes how the Honor Flight Network provided transportation, a guardian, and a tour of sites in the National Mall and Arlington. Exchanging waves with a group of former "Rosie the Riveters," the narrator pauses at each memorial to remember and reflect (sometimes pointedly: "World War II, a circle of unity. I recalled a nation of shared purpose,") Tavares depicts guardians and their charges, most of the latter in and out of wheelchairs, taking the tour and afterward gathering beneath the Lincoln Memorial to talk and bond. Having tearfully read a packet of appreciative letters from friends and schoolchildren on the flight home, the narrator lands to the sort of warm, celebratory welcome that, he remarks, "many of us were denied all those years ago." Still--"This is why we had served," he concludes. "It was an honor." VERDICT 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.--John Peters
Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Jeff Gottesfeld is the author of Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, illustrated by Matt Tavares. An acclaimed writer whose work has won awards from the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the National Council for the Social Studies, he has previously written for adult, teen, middle-grade, and picture book audiences. Jeff Gottesfeld is based in Los Angeles. Matt Tavares is the author-illustrator of Crossing Niagara, Henry Aaron's Dream, There Goes Ted Williams, Becoming Babe Ruth, and Growing Up Pedro, as well as Zachary's Ball, Oliver's Game, and Mudball. He is the illustrator of Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Over the River and Through the Wood, Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport, The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup, and Jubilee! by Alicia Potter. He is also the creator of the modern Christmas tales Red and Lulu and the New York Times bestseller Dasher and its sequels. Matt Tavares lives in Ogunquit, Maine.
