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Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army
Your mission: Find Victor Dowd’s missing sketchbook. And discover one of the most unusual stories of World War II.
Meet the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army. This group of artists and sound engineers were trained to deceive the Germans in World War II with everything from fake tanks to loudspeakers broadcasting the sound of marching troops. And meet Victor Dowd, a real-life sergeant who with his fellow Ghost Army troops fought his way from Normandy, through France, and eventually across the Rhine.
Second in the Spy on History series, it’s a compelling story of a little-known chapter from the war—and a mystery to solve. Using spycraft materials included in a sealed envelope, readers will discover and unravel the clues embedded in the book’s text and illustrations, and uncover the mystery of Victor Dowd’s missing sketchbook.
Meet the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army. This group of artists and sound engineers were trained to deceive the Germans in World War II with everything from fake tanks to loudspeakers broadcasting the sound of marching troops. And meet Victor Dowd, a real-life sergeant who with his fellow Ghost Army troops fought his way from Normandy, through France, and eventually across the Rhine.
Second in the Spy on History series, it’s a compelling story of a little-known chapter from the war—and a mystery to solve. Using spycraft materials included in a sealed envelope, readers will discover and unravel the clues embedded in the book’s text and illustrations, and uncover the mystery of Victor Dowd’s missing sketchbook.
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 23, 2018
1 person is currently reading
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 31, 2018
Not too many people know about the Ghost Army and what they did during the war, but they played an very important part in the Allied victory. In this second book in the Spy On History series, readers meet Sergeant Victor Dowd, a Brooklyn boy, was hand picked by the Army to become part of the 603rd Camouflage Engineers, a/k/a the Ghost Army.
Victor, along with the rest of the hand picked members of the Ghost Army, had been chosen because of their artistic talents. After basic training, the members of the 603rd had developed and tested inflatable guns, planes, tanks, and vehicles as well as figuring out how to disguise bomber planes and coastal defense to fool the enemy. Now, along with the 3132 Signal Service Company Special, they would get to test their deceptions for real.
After the successful Normandy invasion, Vic and his platoon arrived on Omaha Beach in France, along with their inflatable "equipment" and wasted no time setting up their inflatable howitzers. But would it fool the enemy?
That was the question the Ghost Army asked themselves each time they moved forward. Their job was to fool the enemy into thinking they were a fully armored division ready for battle, when in reality there was nothing but realistic inflatables and finely tuned sound effects imitating every possible sound typical of real division.
As the Ghost Army worked its way through France, Belgium all the way to the Rhine and their longest and greatest deception, readers can use the spy craft tools to try to solve the mystery of Victor's missing sketchbook.
Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army is a novel based on real events and and real people,
including Vic. And all of the different incidents that are included in the novel also took place. For instance, Alberti includes the story of Christmas 1944, when Vic and the other Ghost Army soldiers put together boxes of goodies like candy, gum, and food from their own rations for some of the refugee children in France. One little boy never smiled, and Vic wonders what terrible things he had already been through. Vic even drew a picture of him.
To help them do that, there is a sealed Top Secret envelop included at the front of the book that contains the four spy craft tools to help readers will need to find the clues that are scattered throughout the book to help them solve the mystery of where to find Victor Dowd's missing sketchbook. The tools include a cipher wheel, a red acetate sheet, a WWII "poop sheet" containing information about specific units, as well as morse code, and a sheet of vellum featuring patches of the Ghost Army and the battalions they impersonated.
The Spy on History series is a great way for kids to add to their knowledge of history. This is a middle grade book and by then, most kids have learned about WWII, but this adds to that by providing a look an some of the more unusual aspects of that conflict. And at the same time, they get to use their problem solving skills as they try to solve the mystery.
When I was a classroom teacher, and even in homeschooling situations, Friday afternoon was always cool down time and the kids were allowed to play strategy games. This would be an ideal addition to the other games.
Here's a question you can give the kids to think about while they read Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army:
If you were a member of the Ghost Army, which of your creative skills would you utilize to deceive the German troops?
Personally, I'm not very artistic, but I'm a good problem solver, so the only thing I would be good for are idea about how to go about deceiving the enemy.
Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army is a wonderful and fun way to learn about the important role the Ghost Army played in helping the Allies win the war.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was provided by the publisher, Workman Publishing
Victor, along with the rest of the hand picked members of the Ghost Army, had been chosen because of their artistic talents. After basic training, the members of the 603rd had developed and tested inflatable guns, planes, tanks, and vehicles as well as figuring out how to disguise bomber planes and coastal defense to fool the enemy. Now, along with the 3132 Signal Service Company Special, they would get to test their deceptions for real.
After the successful Normandy invasion, Vic and his platoon arrived on Omaha Beach in France, along with their inflatable "equipment" and wasted no time setting up their inflatable howitzers. But would it fool the enemy?
That was the question the Ghost Army asked themselves each time they moved forward. Their job was to fool the enemy into thinking they were a fully armored division ready for battle, when in reality there was nothing but realistic inflatables and finely tuned sound effects imitating every possible sound typical of real division.
As the Ghost Army worked its way through France, Belgium all the way to the Rhine and their longest and greatest deception, readers can use the spy craft tools to try to solve the mystery of Victor's missing sketchbook.
Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army is a novel based on real events and and real people,
including Vic. And all of the different incidents that are included in the novel also took place. For instance, Alberti includes the story of Christmas 1944, when Vic and the other Ghost Army soldiers put together boxes of goodies like candy, gum, and food from their own rations for some of the refugee children in France. One little boy never smiled, and Vic wonders what terrible things he had already been through. Vic even drew a picture of him.
To help them do that, there is a sealed Top Secret envelop included at the front of the book that contains the four spy craft tools to help readers will need to find the clues that are scattered throughout the book to help them solve the mystery of where to find Victor Dowd's missing sketchbook. The tools include a cipher wheel, a red acetate sheet, a WWII "poop sheet" containing information about specific units, as well as morse code, and a sheet of vellum featuring patches of the Ghost Army and the battalions they impersonated.
The Spy on History series is a great way for kids to add to their knowledge of history. This is a middle grade book and by then, most kids have learned about WWII, but this adds to that by providing a look an some of the more unusual aspects of that conflict. And at the same time, they get to use their problem solving skills as they try to solve the mystery.
When I was a classroom teacher, and even in homeschooling situations, Friday afternoon was always cool down time and the kids were allowed to play strategy games. This would be an ideal addition to the other games.
Here's a question you can give the kids to think about while they read Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army:
If you were a member of the Ghost Army, which of your creative skills would you utilize to deceive the German troops?
Personally, I'm not very artistic, but I'm a good problem solver, so the only thing I would be good for are idea about how to go about deceiving the enemy.
Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army is a wonderful and fun way to learn about the important role the Ghost Army played in helping the Allies win the war.
This book is recommended for readers age 10+
This book was provided by the publisher, Workman Publishing
February 29, 2024
I had never heard of the Ghost Army before reading this book. It is amazing to think about the huge role these artists played in helping win WW2. Now I’m just wondering how realistic were those inflatable tanks?
April 25, 2018
Very interesting. It kept my attention. I read it in one sitting.
March 9, 2020
I loved how the history was presented in this book. It was easy to read and digest. However, my son was more concerned about solving the mystery with the cool spy tools. He might have enjoyed it a bit more if he were a little older. We haven't figured out the answer yet, but when we do, I'll post an update.
July 24, 2017
Upper elementary and middle grade fans of history will enjoy reading about the Ghost Army that was used in the European theater during WWII to fool Hitler's troops into thinking they knew where the Allied forces were, but in reality, they were only seeing inflatable mock ups and hearing dramatized radio contacts! Even those who are reluctant to read will likely be drawn in by the excellent illustrations and will be encouraged by the manageable length. Teachers covering WWII could easily incorporate this book into lessons on key figures and events during WWII. Highly recommended by this librarian.
February 19, 2018
Learning about the Ghost Army (603rd Camouflage Engineers) who used their art talents to trick the German army away from the real army was exciting and to top it off, there are real spycraft tools in the book to help break a code so the reader can find Victor Dowd's hidden sketchbook.
The graphic novel type illustrations and subtle mix of fonts adds to the entire package! School and public libraries may want to consider how they will keep the spycraft tools intact.
The graphic novel type illustrations and subtle mix of fonts adds to the entire package! School and public libraries may want to consider how they will keep the spycraft tools intact.
April 9, 2018
My Thoughts-
The book is all tell, tell, tell. Almost like a travel dialogue. There is a narrator that goes over what Victor Dowd and his troops went through during the war, and while the facts are very interesting (I didn't even know about the Ghost Army) the story is bland. There is no showing, no getting into the character of Victor, no emotions. I don't think a typical middle grade reader will get past the first several pages of details. It's a non-fiction book trying to read like a fictional story.
Now, the code cracking. The book ends with a letter the reader is supposed to decode. It is a fun task, however it is very confusing. The logistics are simple, use the cryptowheel, but because several letters for each word are left out, you end up filling things in that make sense. My problem was when it didn't make sense. You uncover a clue about the (blank - blank) church. I searched the entire book through several times to find the name of any church or location that was mentioned that used a hyphenated word like in the clue. I found none.
However, I had enough of the clue figured out that I could solve the major question, but then what? I thought I had solved it and opened up the sealed part at the end. Nope! Big fail that the book doesn't tell you what to do after you decipher the letter. A hint would be nice, like use the other objects in the spy kit and pages from the book to figure out what city Victor left his sketchbook in? Solving the letter was just the beginning. That would have been nice to know. I thought opening the sealed part would lead to more puzzles that told me to use the spy kit, not the complete answers to everything.
So, I backtracked and started using the tools from the spy kit. Several things are obvious, others not so much. The kid figuring this thing out is going to have to be smart. Morse code and pictures aside, some stuff I couldn't figure out what to do with. It reminded me of the escape room game where you use clues to get a code to escape. For me, I had to read the first several page examples before I even knew what I was supposed to do and then go from there. So, I'm going to recommend this book to the history loving, analytical thinking middle grader (or even older). 3 stars!
The book is all tell, tell, tell. Almost like a travel dialogue. There is a narrator that goes over what Victor Dowd and his troops went through during the war, and while the facts are very interesting (I didn't even know about the Ghost Army) the story is bland. There is no showing, no getting into the character of Victor, no emotions. I don't think a typical middle grade reader will get past the first several pages of details. It's a non-fiction book trying to read like a fictional story.
Now, the code cracking. The book ends with a letter the reader is supposed to decode. It is a fun task, however it is very confusing. The logistics are simple, use the cryptowheel, but because several letters for each word are left out, you end up filling things in that make sense. My problem was when it didn't make sense. You uncover a clue about the (blank - blank) church. I searched the entire book through several times to find the name of any church or location that was mentioned that used a hyphenated word like in the clue. I found none.
However, I had enough of the clue figured out that I could solve the major question, but then what? I thought I had solved it and opened up the sealed part at the end. Nope! Big fail that the book doesn't tell you what to do after you decipher the letter. A hint would be nice, like use the other objects in the spy kit and pages from the book to figure out what city Victor left his sketchbook in? Solving the letter was just the beginning. That would have been nice to know. I thought opening the sealed part would lead to more puzzles that told me to use the spy kit, not the complete answers to everything.
So, I backtracked and started using the tools from the spy kit. Several things are obvious, others not so much. The kid figuring this thing out is going to have to be smart. Morse code and pictures aside, some stuff I couldn't figure out what to do with. It reminded me of the escape room game where you use clues to get a code to escape. For me, I had to read the first several page examples before I even knew what I was supposed to do and then go from there. So, I'm going to recommend this book to the history loving, analytical thinking middle grader (or even older). 3 stars!
August 30, 2017
We read and loved "Spy on History: Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring", and were excited to see another book in the series!
"Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army" tells a story about Sergeant Vic Dowd, an Allied soldier helping to push the Nazis out of France just after D-Day. The Ghost Army was tasked with drawing German fire away from the main invasion force, as a diversion.
The Ghost Army is a true story - although it's existence wasn't declassified until 1996, so many may not have heard of it. This team had a real impact on the outcome of the war, and would be a great addition to a study of WWII.
This book gives a lot of information about World War II in an interesting, engaging manner. It's also both a reader and an activity book. At the end of the story is a coded letter written by Victor - you can use clues and codes within the story to figure out where Victor hid a secret sketchbook. The story is well-written, and there are illustrations throughout that add to the story.
This would be an excellent addition to a study of World War II, and I hope there will be additional volumes relating to other parts of history - after all we can definitely trace spies back to the Trojan War, and likely there were many well before that! I'd say it's an upper elementary reading level, so use as a read-aloud through about 3rd grade, independent thereafter.
The book itself is hard cover, and includes an envelope of spy materials in the front, and has a seal on the final pages which give the solution to the mystery.
Disclosure: I received a review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
"Spy on History: Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army" tells a story about Sergeant Vic Dowd, an Allied soldier helping to push the Nazis out of France just after D-Day. The Ghost Army was tasked with drawing German fire away from the main invasion force, as a diversion.
The Ghost Army is a true story - although it's existence wasn't declassified until 1996, so many may not have heard of it. This team had a real impact on the outcome of the war, and would be a great addition to a study of WWII.
This book gives a lot of information about World War II in an interesting, engaging manner. It's also both a reader and an activity book. At the end of the story is a coded letter written by Victor - you can use clues and codes within the story to figure out where Victor hid a secret sketchbook. The story is well-written, and there are illustrations throughout that add to the story.
This would be an excellent addition to a study of World War II, and I hope there will be additional volumes relating to other parts of history - after all we can definitely trace spies back to the Trojan War, and likely there were many well before that! I'd say it's an upper elementary reading level, so use as a read-aloud through about 3rd grade, independent thereafter.
The book itself is hard cover, and includes an envelope of spy materials in the front, and has a seal on the final pages which give the solution to the mystery.
Disclosure: I received a review copy from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
August 6, 2017
Enigma Alberti's Spy on History: Victor Down and the World War II Ghost Story is an incredible, almost unbelievable bit of WW II history that wasn't declassified until 1996. Specially trained artists and sound engineers used inflatable tanks, camouflage, recordings of troops and trucks on the march, fake radio transmissions, and their sheer wits to convince the Germans that a mass of American troops were setting up camp. The knew they were successful if they were shelled by the enemy! Their missions and movements were top secret, and they lived with the constant threat of having their ruse discovered by townspeople and the Nazis. This book doubles as a cipher to solve.
Libraries might not carry the Spy on History titles because they contain pieces of paper and a small sheet of colored plastic, but don't miss out on this unique way to experience history. You will have to step over kids plopped down in the middle of bookstore aisles to reach a copy.
I am reading the first title (Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring) with one of my tutoring students and she loves it. Buy this for kids who want a hands-on challenge to go with a fascinating glimpse into history. (NetGalley provided an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
Libraries might not carry the Spy on History titles because they contain pieces of paper and a small sheet of colored plastic, but don't miss out on this unique way to experience history. You will have to step over kids plopped down in the middle of bookstore aisles to reach a copy.
I am reading the first title (Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring) with one of my tutoring students and she loves it. Buy this for kids who want a hands-on challenge to go with a fascinating glimpse into history. (NetGalley provided an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.)
January 10, 2018
I can't say enough good things about the Spy on History series (first book was on Mary Bowser and the Civil War Spy Ring)--I wish it had been around sooner. I often do library/teacher convention talks on how to reach reluctant readers, and this is a perfect example of a non-fiction title that would bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction for kids who may not like to read.
The story is one of those footnote-in-history ones, about engineers tasked with deceiving the Germans in WWII. We follow soldier Victor Dowd and the Ghost Army as their missions are challenging, and seemingly too difficult to accomplish.
I love how there are graphic novel-style illustration throughout, plus excerpts in bold, so the story visually moves along. The author does a brilliant job at building the arc of the Ghost Army's achievement, finding the thriller-like story in history, while not trivializing the sacrifice made by the people the Ghost Army was fighting for.
There's a historical note in the back, plus a code for kids to crack, which is fun. This book, and the series, is an exciting addition for MG readers. I'll look forward to the next book.
**NetGalley provided e-copy for review**
The story is one of those footnote-in-history ones, about engineers tasked with deceiving the Germans in WWII. We follow soldier Victor Dowd and the Ghost Army as their missions are challenging, and seemingly too difficult to accomplish.
I love how there are graphic novel-style illustration throughout, plus excerpts in bold, so the story visually moves along. The author does a brilliant job at building the arc of the Ghost Army's achievement, finding the thriller-like story in history, while not trivializing the sacrifice made by the people the Ghost Army was fighting for.
There's a historical note in the back, plus a code for kids to crack, which is fun. This book, and the series, is an exciting addition for MG readers. I'll look forward to the next book.
**NetGalley provided e-copy for review**
April 5, 2018
I liked this quite a bit, and I think many kids will love it. It's a fascinating story that was only declassified in the 1990s, and it's kind of a crazy thing. Only 3 stars for the book, though, because of a few nitpicks: it got a bit repetitive; referring to grown women as "girls" is annoying; and at one point the book states that there were "only a handful of Germans left in France," when there were plenty of Germans left. In a book for kids, the phrase "only a handful" should mean a handful, or at least a very small number. It was confusing for me as an adult reader! Maybe the author meant a handful of divisions, but even then it doesn't seem to make sense. (I am not a person with a lot of knowledge of history, so if I am wrong here and there were truly only a handful left and then a bunch came back later, I will happily retract!)
All of that said, I really do think kids will like it! And that doesn't include solving the codes--I pretty much ignored that part of it. Maybe that bumps it up to 3.5, if they are well done.
All of that said, I really do think kids will like it! And that doesn't include solving the codes--I pretty much ignored that part of it. Maybe that bumps it up to 3.5, if they are well done.
June 26, 2018
Featured on World War II Wednesday on Intellectual Recreation.
The Spy on History books are a great way to engage young readers. With plenty of illustrations and a mystery for the readers to solve, the story will keep young readers interested.
I've been fascinated by the Ghost Army ever since I first learned of it. The 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army, concocted elaborate ruses to fool the Germans, impersonating full divisions with fake tanks, artillery, and broadcast sounds of an army on the move or at rest. The Ghost Army helped pave the way for the invasion at Normandy and protected the troops as they battled towards Germany by misdirecting and distracting the Germans.
The Spy on History books are a great way to engage young readers. With plenty of illustrations and a mystery for the readers to solve, the story will keep young readers interested.
I've been fascinated by the Ghost Army ever since I first learned of it. The 603rd Camouflage Engineers, better known as the Ghost Army, concocted elaborate ruses to fool the Germans, impersonating full divisions with fake tanks, artillery, and broadcast sounds of an army on the move or at rest. The Ghost Army helped pave the way for the invasion at Normandy and protected the troops as they battled towards Germany by misdirecting and distracting the Germans.
March 5, 2021
I've always enjoyed codes and ciphers, so I decided to pick this book up. I'm not the target demographic (university student), but still learned a few things about the Ghost Army while reading through the story and I had fun solving the mystery. It's not a difficult mystery and there are times where the same clue points to the same hint, so you can miss some clues and still solve it. The code-breaking trinkets were also a nice touch.
The story took about 30 minutes for me to read, and the code-breaking took about an hour.
I think this would be fun for students interested in ciphers, or even an adult who just wants some easy code-breaking. It was a great way for me to relax a bit while studying for exams.
The story took about 30 minutes for me to read, and the code-breaking took about an hour.
I think this would be fun for students interested in ciphers, or even an adult who just wants some easy code-breaking. It was a great way for me to relax a bit while studying for exams.
January 21, 2018
This was fun even though I stink at decoding. If you have a history or spy buff in your life, hand this book to him or her. Profusely illustrated in black, grey and red, the breezy narrative is punctuated with bold and enlarged typography and symbols. There are clues embedded throughout the book from the map at the front through the copyright page all the way to the end. There's an envelope containing four items needed to break the codes, which may be a challenge getting back for libraries. Backmatter includes a historical note, suggestions for further reading and sealed pages with the answers, which, of course, I had to look at.
July 1, 2017
Fascinating piece of history that I hadn't known about before, the "Ghost Army" of the Allies in World War Two... basically a huge decoy army to keep the Germans' attention away from the real army!
I read this on my laptop so was unable to join in the fun of decoding Vic's secret message, but in a real copy of the book that'd be awesome fun. Reminded me of The Eleventh Hour's secret message :)
I read this on my laptop so was unable to join in the fun of decoding Vic's secret message, but in a real copy of the book that'd be awesome fun. Reminded me of The Eleventh Hour's secret message :)
October 13, 2017
Wow! Great story for any age. The history of World War 2 told in this book is amazing. I enjoyed the details and the drawings that went along with the story. I appreciated the authors leaving in details about the darker side of war like death and the affect it had on civilians in Europe. Parts of the story made me so proud I had goosebumps. I think overall this book does a great job of telling a story not often learned about in school and making it interesting.
January 26, 2023
We read this alongside of our WWII study. The ghost army was completely new info to both the kids and I. We love the "spy" aspect that goes along with the book (finding clues to decipher messages throughout the story).
We enjoyed this but the kids and I both enjoyed the same series but diff book Mary Bowser better. We'll be looking for more in this series.
We enjoyed this but the kids and I both enjoyed the same series but diff book Mary Bowser better. We'll be looking for more in this series.
January 26, 2018
Exciting, entertaining, and educational...this unique and clever book is all these things! Middle-grade readers will be captivated by the fascinating history of the Ghost Army and will have a blast deciphering puzzles and clues using the tools provided within the book.
January 22, 2019
This was a very interesting book - the history was great, and the code breaking was interesting. It had great clues throughout that were flavorful (very WW2 era clues), and the puzzle was challenging without being too hard.
March 13, 2018
Horn Book review
May 4, 2018
Ghost Army this time.
June 6, 2020
I did not know that!
May 19, 2023
Historical fiction with great end notes about what is real in the story.
PLUS, reader/code breakers are given a mystery to solve.
PLUS, reader/code breakers are given a mystery to solve.
February 5, 2019
Victor Dowd and the World War II Ghost Army by Enigma Albertiand Scott Wegener, 82 pages. Workman Publishing, 2017. $13.
Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL – AVERAGE
Sergeant Victor Dowd helped lead a group of men, called the Ghost Army, throughout World War II as they set up fake armies to throw off the enemy. Using blow-up tanks, props and sound effects they would set up close to the enemy’s lines and try to distract the enemy while the real army moved into better position to surprise the enemy. Dowd and his men would attract enemy fire, even though the army wasn’t equipped with real guns and their strategies worked to help win the war.
This is such a fascinating unknown facet of World War II history. I loved the illustrations and the simple, but fact-based telling of this Ghost Army.
My only issue with this book is it comes with a mystery hidden in the pages and an envelope of “spy-craft tools” to uncover the mystery (making it feel like an activity book) and I feel like it takes away from the story which is amazing on its own.
Clarification: The Spycraft Kit envelope is only in the trade edition. The library editions will be printed in April of 2019. While they will still have a mystery within the pages, they will not have the Spycraft Kit envelope so no need to worry about losing small pieces in circulation. We will review the library editions when they are published. They will include this title and two new books! --- Cindy
C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
Content: Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL – AVERAGE
Sergeant Victor Dowd helped lead a group of men, called the Ghost Army, throughout World War II as they set up fake armies to throw off the enemy. Using blow-up tanks, props and sound effects they would set up close to the enemy’s lines and try to distract the enemy while the real army moved into better position to surprise the enemy. Dowd and his men would attract enemy fire, even though the army wasn’t equipped with real guns and their strategies worked to help win the war.
This is such a fascinating unknown facet of World War II history. I loved the illustrations and the simple, but fact-based telling of this Ghost Army.
My only issue with this book is it comes with a mystery hidden in the pages and an envelope of “spy-craft tools” to uncover the mystery (making it feel like an activity book) and I feel like it takes away from the story which is amazing on its own.
Clarification: The Spycraft Kit envelope is only in the trade edition. The library editions will be printed in April of 2019. While they will still have a mystery within the pages, they will not have the Spycraft Kit envelope so no need to worry about losing small pieces in circulation. We will review the library editions when they are published. They will include this title and two new books! --- Cindy
C. Peterson
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
June 7, 2018
Book received from NetGalley.
I sat and read this eArc from cover to cover, in one sitting, while on vacation. I even made my husband read parts of it whether he liked it or not. I really loved this book, I'm a huge history geek and this book pushed all of my buttons, in a good way. I knew nothing about this part of World War II history and I was fascinated by it, I definitely have to read more about it. I think this is a great subject for a children's history book, fighting a war with inflatables is definitely something that will make kids stop and go what, how did that work? Since it was an eArc it didn't have the extra stuff to try to find Dowd's sketchbook, but I think it's a great addition to help keep younger kids attention. I need to find the first book in this series and read it as well.
I sat and read this eArc from cover to cover, in one sitting, while on vacation. I even made my husband read parts of it whether he liked it or not. I really loved this book, I'm a huge history geek and this book pushed all of my buttons, in a good way. I knew nothing about this part of World War II history and I was fascinated by it, I definitely have to read more about it. I think this is a great subject for a children's history book, fighting a war with inflatables is definitely something that will make kids stop and go what, how did that work? Since it was an eArc it didn't have the extra stuff to try to find Dowd's sketchbook, but I think it's a great addition to help keep younger kids attention. I need to find the first book in this series and read it as well.
November 27, 2018
This book is two part-first I found the story fascinating. I had no idea about this part of World War II. The second part is an envelope of clues that you can search through the book and solve a mystery-which I didn't love as much. I think most readers would be distracted by the clues and not get into the cool story.
January 25, 2020
This was a really informative book on some of the major events of World War II, I never knew this unit existed and it was fun to read about their tactics and decipher their messages.
December 5, 2017
My 11 and 13 year old kids are vocal fans of this new series and love the format. A page turning addictive read that evokes curiousity, conversation and a greater grasp of history!
February 7, 2018
The 603rd Camouflage Engineers had a special mission--rather than fighting against the Germans in WWII, they were a group of artists whose job was to trick the Germans into thinking that they were real troops, drawing the attention away from the true movements of Allied troops. They used inflatable tanks and guns, recorded sounds of army life, and more, to make it seem like thousands of troops were ready to face the foe.
This book was awesome! I love learning about WWII, and I had never heard of the Ghost Army before. It almost sounds like it should be fiction rather than nonfiction because it's such a crazy idea; it was really neat to see all of the details that they had to consider and recreate. I highly recommend this book and think it would be a great addition to a WWII unit in school.
I read a copy of the ebook and because of that, I can't evaluate the mystery aspect of the book--but it sounds cool enough that I'm going to have to get my hands on a print copy so I can look at that, too!
I received a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This book was awesome! I love learning about WWII, and I had never heard of the Ghost Army before. It almost sounds like it should be fiction rather than nonfiction because it's such a crazy idea; it was really neat to see all of the details that they had to consider and recreate. I highly recommend this book and think it would be a great addition to a WWII unit in school.
I read a copy of the ebook and because of that, I can't evaluate the mystery aspect of the book--but it sounds cool enough that I'm going to have to get my hands on a print copy so I can look at that, too!
I received a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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