Toby and the Secret Code

by Una Belle Townsend, Gwen Coleman Lester (illustrator)

After Toby's report on the World War I code talkers, his friend Charlie wants to have a secret code, too. They learn Choctaw words and phrases and pretend to be soldiers, like Toby's great-great-grandfather, Tobias Frazier. But when Grandpa falls and needs their help, the boys must act quickly. Do they have what it takes to be Grandpa's heroes?

36 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Una Belle Townsend is a retired teacher/librarian. She taught for nearly 35 years. She graduated from East Texas Baptist College and acquired her Master's Degree in Elementary Education at Stephen F. Austin State University. She has received many local honors for her short stories and poetry. She has lived in Yukon for over 40 years. The Riverside Elementary School Library was recently renamed the Una Belle Townsend Honorary Library in her honor. She has received an Oklahoma Center for he Book Award, a Best in Juvenile Books Award from the Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc., an IRA/Children's Choice Award, and a Delta Kappa Gamma Women of Achievement Award in Poetry. She has received 8 Senior Games awards for her writing and her photography. She was a finalist for the Crystal Kite Award given by SCBWI. She has eight published books.

Reviews

[Assia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun way for children to learn about the Choctaw Code Talkers, whose important contribution to WWI has been forgotten.
The book is full of elements of the Choctaw culture & history, language, local newspaper Biskinik, characters.
Quoting Beth Lawless, grand-daughter of of Code Talker Tobias Frazier, this book "shows that heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things during critical times".
Highly recommend as a quick and fun way to teach children about the Choctaw code talkers!