  | Twenty-one steps : guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Author: Gottesfeld, Jeff | |
| Price: $23.08 | ||
Summary:
Keeping vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, are the sentinel guards, whose every step, every turn, honors and remembers America's fallen. To stand there-with absolute precision, in every type of weather, at every moment of the day, one in a line uninterrupted since midnight July 2, 1937-is the ultimate privilege and the most difficult post to earn in the Army.
| Illustrator: | Tavares, Matt |
Download a Teacher's Guide| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 3.80 Points: .5 Quiz: 511654 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (01/01/21)
School Library Journal (02/01/21)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/21)
The Hornbook (+) (00/03/21)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 02/01/2021 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 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
