Twenty-One Steps

February 1, 2021

Gr 3-5-This title is a tribute to the nameless fallen soldiers and the sentinels who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The poetic prose uses the collective first person to describe the deceased's imagined appreciation for the sentinels. The narrative begins with "The Sentinel's Creed," and concludes with a factual afterword. The main text provides a history and reverence for the dedication and exactitude of the guards who pace in precise intervals, every hour of every day. The somber and inclusive illustrations are drawn in pencil and painted digitally. The people who guard the tomb are depicted as strong, stoic men and women. Soldiers and family members include Black characters. Readers see the gleam of their highly polished shoes, the reflection in their mirrored sunglasses, and their perfectly pressed uniforms flecked in snow. The crowds visiting the tomb vary in age and race; one is shown with a head covering, one wears a yarmulke, one has a prosthetic leg, and one uses a wheelchair. The occasionally awkward first-person viewpoint combined with some difficult vocabulary may make it difficult for the youngest readers. VERDICT This book's message of selflessness is as clear as the click of the metal-studded heels of sentinels walking their appointed steps.-Lisa Taylor, Florida State Coll., Jacksonville

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2021
An up-close look at the sentinels who protect and honor America's fallen. "I am an Unknown. I am one of many." Instantly personal, instantly heart-rending. The unnamed, unknown soldier in the tomb at Arlington National Cemetery tells this story. World War I took not only the lives of many, but, tragically, their identities as well. "Nameless and faceless" heroes were impossible to reunite with loved ones. Families were unable to properly mourn. In 1921, one soldier was chosen to represent the Unknowns. Gottesfeld's text, spare and shining, gently gives the backstory. But it is the unexpected footsteps--21 to be exact--of the soldier who stands guard and 21 seconds of silence that resound loudly and purely. "With each step, my war was over." Forearms are kept at 90-degree angles. Hat brims are two finger widths above the eye. The precision of dress and deliberate, smooth actions of the Tomb Guards emanate honor and respect, but the first-person narration shows a personal perspective. A 24-hour guard gives comfort and companionship. "From that moment, I have never been alone again." Tavares' magisterial art soars, awash in opposing forces: shadowed but luminous, soaked in both melancholy and reverence. All sentinels ("men and women of every race, religion, and creed") take this honor seriously, expressed in the "Sentinel's Creed" reproduced in the frontmatter. The fallen who have died nameless deserve the very best. This is it. Impeccably honors its subject. (afterword) (Informational picture book. 5-10)

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