Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code Book Review

 

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code








1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bruchac, J. (2024). CHESTER NEZ AND THE UNBREAKABLE CODE. Albert Whitman & Company. ISBN: 978-0807511350

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Chester Nez and The Unbreakable Code is a biographical picture book about the Navajo soldiers who spoke in code during WWII. 


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In Chester Nez and The Unbreakable Code, the characters are very authentic and culturally accurate. As the main character, Chester recounts growing up and being sent to a boarding school to learn the English language. 

The setting begins in Fort Defiance in Arizona at the boarding school and also Chester’s home. He attends the boarding school during the school year and returns home to help with planting and harvesting. After Pearl Harbor is bombed, the setting shifts to locations of war while Chester Nez and other Navajo tribe members create the Code Talkers platoon. They traveled to many Pacific islands. 

In this novel, there are many cultural markers for American Indians. One of the most noticeable is the Navajo words referenced for the alphabet. They first gave each letter a word and then associated something with that word in English. They then used the Navajo word for the word associated with that letter (ex: ant is Wol-la-chee). Chester’s real name is Betoli, which is Navajo. His name was changed by the boarding school, which was common. He was physically punished if he used his Navajo language. As it was a Catholic boarding school Chester found importance in learning their ways while also keeping his Navajo traditions sacred. Familial ties are evident throughout the story. Chester returns to help on his land every summer while growing up. He also spoke of praying using corn pollen throughout the book, which are the same prayers of ancestors.  They also spoke about the Enemy Way ceremony to help those returning from boarding school and also war like Chester.  

The illustrations in Chester Nez represent the Navajo Nation and are indicative of Navajo culture. Holmes used chalk for the illustrations. On the pages where Chester is at the boarding school and at war, the colors used are dark, depicting a somber mood. When he returns to his home in the summers, the last illustration is bright and depicts happiness and hope. Holmes also illustrates Navajo symbols, including black birds, traditional Navajo homes, animals, and paintings. The skin tones and hair are of Native American representations. 


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • Booklist, 04/01/18

  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 06/01/18

  • Kirkus Reviews starred, 03/01/18

  • Publishers Weekly, 05/07/18

  • School Library Journal, 05/01/18


Full-Text Reviews
Booklist (April 1, 2018 (Vol. 114, No. 15))

Grades 2-5. Bruchac distills his extensive knowledge about the Navajo code talkers in this complex biography for young readers. When Betoli is taken to boarding school at the age of eight, his name is changed to Chester, his head shaved, and his language forbidden. Despite his own despair, Chester stays strong and comforts other children when nightmares plague them. This is a story of forced adaptation: Chester learns English and Christian prayers in order to survive, while maintaining his Navajo identity. It is a story of conflict: Chester lends his skills to the very power that fought his people. His work with the U.S. military, developing the code that results in the enemy’s defeat, brings him both trauma and honor. The tragic irony of Chester’s life may be lost on young readers, but older ones may ask salient questions about a society that forbade Navajo ways until they were useful. Amini-Holmes’ striking illustrations bring these contrasts to life, merging both of Chester’s lives while keeping them distinctly separate. An author’s note adds detail and context.


  • 5. CONNECTIONS

Related books:

Kallen, S. (2018). NAVAJO CODE TALKERS. Lerner Publications. ISBN: 978-1-51248-644-5


Reynolds, J. (20178). LIFE AS A NAVAJO CODE TALKER IN WORLD WAR II. Cavendish Square.  ISBN: 978-1-54901-634-9















Activities:


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Environmental Scan

  Have you ever thought about how information technology impacts the learning of our students and their environment?  “The environmental scan method is designed to enable decision makers to understand the external environment and translate this understanding into an institution’s planning processes.(Cohen Group p.3) In this blog post, I’ll be discussing an environmental scan of my school Covenant Christian School, the communities we serve, and how we can improve.  While on the campus of Covenant, students are given broadband internet access on their school issued device. In PreK- Kindergarten, students use an iPad as their device. In grades 1st-6th, students use a designated Chromebook from a class set checked out to their teacher. All Elementary devices stay on campus in their respective classrooms.  In grades 7th-12th, students are checked out a Chromebook and charger for the year to be returned at the end of the school year. Secondary devices can be taken home to ...
Read more

Pedagogy Before Technology

  Pedagogy Before Technology   Kathryn Major Library Science, Sam Houston State University  LSSL 5391 01 Digital Technology for the School Librarian Professor Gross June 5, 2024   Pedagogy Before Technology      I remember learning about Bloom’s Taxonomy in college classes. From there, Bloom’s implementation was through lesson plans daily focusing more on the higher order thinking skills. This is where scaffolding and spiraling from grade to grade are essential in the lower order thinking skills. The expectation between grade levels is that the previous has set the foundation to maximize learning. This leads to higher order thinking skills used with concepts already concrete. With technology interwoven into every aspect of our lives, we must embrace its presence and utilize it to the best potential. The update to Bloom’s Taxonomy “This revision is fundamentally based on the revised taxonomy proposed by Anderson et al [2], but is mor...
Read more