Code Word Courage (Dogs of World War II) - Hardcover

Kirby Larson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky; its sequel, Hattie Ever After; Duke; Dash, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; Liberty; Code Word Courage; Audacity Jones to the Rescue; its sequel, Audacity Jones Steals the Show; and Dear America: The Fences Between Us. She has also cowritten the award-winning picture books Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle. She lives in Washington state with her husband and Winston the Wonder Dog.

The door swung open and Denny's knee jostled the desk as he hopped to attention. Eighteen sets of chair legs scraped the floor while an Anglo officer strode in, followed by two other Marines. Both Diné.The Anglo introduced himself in Navajo. Not fluent Navajo, but good enough to get by at the trading post. "Take a seat, gentlemen," Sergeant Johnston ordered.They did as instructed.The Anglo turned to one of the Diné officers. "Sergeant Manuelito, would you please get the door?"Manuelito pulled a set of keys from his pocket and efficiently, purposefully, locked the classroom. The tumbler thunked like an animal trap.Denny shot a glance over at Jesse, whose forehead wrinkled imperceptibly.Sergeant Johnston picked up a pointer and tapped at the list of words on the blackboard."Begay, what's this?" The pointer landed on ga-gih."Crow," Denny answered."That's what it meant yesterday. Today, it means patrol plane." The pointer kept tapping. Tas-chizzie, swallow, was a torpedo plane. Atsah, eagle, a transport plane.As the sergeant went down the list, Denny's heart beat faster. It was a code. The Navajo language was the basis of a code. That's why he was here. He glanced around the room. That's why they were all here.Sergeant Johnston cleared his throat. "From this moment on, nothing that you do or hear in this room leaves this room. Under penalty of imprisonment. Nothing." He stared down the rows of Marines. "Do I make myself clear?"Despite the hodgepodge of feelings he was experiencing -– bewilderment, curiosity, fear -- Denny had been in the Marines long enough to know there was only one possible response to the sergeant's question. At the top of his lungs, he answered with the rest of the men: "Yes, sir!"