Code Talker

by Joseph Bruchac

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

HF1940

Genres

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Scholastic Paperbacks (2005)

Description

After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

Media reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-In the measured tones of a Native American storyteller, Bruchac assumes the persona of a Navajo grandfather telling his grandchildren about his World War II experiences. Protagonist Ned Begay starts with his early schooling at an Anglo boarding school, where the Navajo language is

forbidden, and continues through his Marine career as a "code talker," explaining his long silence until "de-classified" in 1969. Begay's lifelong journey honors the Navajos and other Native Americans in the military, and fosters respect for their culture. Bruchac's gentle prose presents a clear historical picture of young men in wartime, island hopping across the Pacific, waging war in the hells of Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and Iwo Jima. Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring, even for those who have seen Windtalkers, or who have read such nonfiction works as Nathan Aaseng's Navajo Code Talkers (Walker, 1992), Kenji Kawano's Warriors: Navajo Code Talkers (Northland, 1990), or Deanne Durrett's Unsung Heroes of World War II: The Story of the Navajo Code Talkers (Facts On File, 1998). For those who've read none of the above, this is an eye-opener.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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Children's Literature

Meredith Ackroyd (Children's Literature) When Kii Yázhí is sent away to the Navaho mission school, he quickly learns what it is to be a Navaho in a white man’s world. At the mission school, he is given a white man’s name, Ned Begay, and he is forbidden to speak his Navaho language. In order

to receive an education, Ned must leave his Navaho language behind. Although determined to excel in the white man’s school, Ned is also determined never to forget his Navaho language and culture. When World War II breaks out, Ned suddenly finds that his language is of value beyond the reservation: Prized for its complexity and obscurity, the Marines use the Navaho language to develop a secret military code, recruiting Ned and other Navahos as top-secret code talkers. It is in war that Ned comes of age, as he learns about life and death, friendship, race relations, and the pride to be found in one’s language and culture. Though far from home, Ned is able to sustain and renew his faith and pride in his Navaho language, culture, and beliefs. A first-person fictional account of the Navaho code talkers in World War II, Bruchac presents a detailed look at the history and culture of the Navaho people. Although at times his main character seems to serve more as a vessel for history than to tell his own story (often at the expense of the emotional impact of personal events), the book presents an interesting and important multicultural perspective on American history. 2005, Dial Books/Penguin Group, $16.99. Ages 12 up.

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Kirkus Reviews

Sixteen-year-old Ned Begay detested life in the Navajo mission school where he was sent. There, "anything that belonged to the Navajo way was bad, and our Navajo language was the worst." However, in one of the greatest ironies in American history, when WWII broke out, Navajos-victims of the US Army

effort to destroy them in the 1860s and the harshness of the mission schools in the 20th century-were recruited by the Marine Corps to use their native language to create an unbreakable code. Navajo is one of the hardest of all American Indian languages to learn, and only Navajos can speak it with complete fluency. So, Ned Begay joined a select group of Navajo code talkers to create one code the Japanese couldn't break. Telling his story to his grandchildren, Ned relates his experiences in school, military training, and across the Pacific, on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. With its multicultural themes and well-told WWII history, this will appeal to a wide audience. (author's note, bibliography) (Fiction. 10+)

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User reviews

LibraryThing member London_StJ

In the early days of World War II the American military is starving for a way to protect transmitted intelligence - an Unbreakable Code. One man, the son of a trader who sells goods to Native Americans, provides the answer the military is looking for, and before long Marines are found on Navajo

reservation to find native speakers. As a language with no alphabet, and a language almost impossible to master unless one learns it from birth, the Navajo tongue provides a code that finally defeats Japanese intelligence. Once their worth is proven, the Code Talkers are in high demand, and their importance in WWII cannot be exaggerated.

In Code Talker, Joseph Bruchac tackles a story that is suppressed for the government for over three decades. Having produced a treasured government secret, the Navajos who develop the Unbreakable Code are forbidden to share their important role in the war, and for years remain unrecognized by anyone other than their fellow Marines.

Ned Begay is one such Marine. Having attended missionary schools from a young age, he is an ideal candidate for the role the Marines seek to fill, and once he is sixteen he convinces his family to allow him to lie about his age and join the military. Once shamed by bilagaanaa for his culture, Ned finds that that very culture is what allows him to serve his homeland.

Bruchac's narrative is haunting; Ned's quiet grade highlights both the horrors of war and the horrors of racism in the land he helps to protect without delving into alienating anger. His dignity moves the reader, and allows anyone with a soul and a conscience to relate to Ned, regardless of race or culture.

With no intimate knowledge of the cultural and historical events, I was quickly drawn in to Ned's story, and found myself mesmerized by his voice and moved by his experiences. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

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LibraryThing member bookbrig

I highly recommend the audio for this book because of the Navajo songs and passages of the text. It was really wonderful to actually hear the language that's at the heart of this story. It's also a great choice for anyone who's interested in combat stories, since much of the book takes place during

battles in the Pacific theater of WWII.

I found the whole book fascinating, and while it's a fictional account, the author's afterward points out that all the people aside from the main character are real soldiers. I'm definitely going to look for some non-fiction on the code talkers next.

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LibraryThing member wunderlong88

Excellent historical account of how the Navajos risked their lives and helped with their unbreakable code (the Navajo language) during World War 2.

LibraryThing member torinotbarbie

The format of the book involves Ned Begay, a Navajo who served in the Marines during World War II, as he relates his war experiences to his grandchildren.
Ned tells them about how he, as a young boy, was removed from his family and forced to attend a White boarding school. While there, he

experienced the humiliation of being told he and his people were no good, and that his only chance at a good life was to completely abandon his Navajo ways and adopt the ways of the Whites.
While Ned was openly obedient to his teachers, he secretly defied them by speaking his native tongue with the other students. It was in this way that he was able to retain his Navajo language.
After being recruited into the Marines during World War II, Ned discovered that he and his fellow Navajos were actually respected for their ability to “Code Talk.” While serving in the Pacific Theatre, Ned became part of a network of Navajo Marines whose radio messages perplexed the Japanese, and probably saved many American lives.
Ned’s boarding school experiences should strike a chord with young adult readers, who tend to feel, at times, picked on by their teachers. Ned’s confused feelings about his cultural heritage should also resound with young adult readers, who may struggle with feeling “different” from the “Whites.”
Code Talkers presents the Navajo culture in a positive, even heroic light, which is a refreshing perspective. Althought the book reads a bit like a history text in places, it should appeal to young adult readers who have an interest in WWII and /or other cultures.
Middle and high school library collections need as many multicultural perspectives on great events as possible, especially those that are uplifting.

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LibraryThing member alice443

This is the story of the Navajo code talkers in WWII. It is told by as a first person narrative, with an emphasis on the irony of using the Navajo language decried by white teachers as the epitome of useless, to defend America. The tale is by a grandfather to his grandchildren, to us who listen

with respect. The historicity of the story is fascinating and I definitely learned a great deal about the code talkers, but the very success of the stylistic choice kept it from being great. Sometimes it just felt a little to real like a beloved grandfather telling a story, rather than a well crafted tale,

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LibraryThing member cherrihittiestaley1

Grandfather presents his wartime story to grandkids. All characters (except two) and events actually happened. Story begins as a young child in an Indian school and goes to boot camp and on to the war. Discusses the ridicule shown towards Indians, their customs and language.

LibraryThing member melissavenable

Written in the voice of a grandfather passing along his story to his grandchildren, this novel introduces life on a reservation, Indian Schools, Army induction and training... Bruchac also presents key Pacific battles of WWII from the perspective of a foot soldier responsible for communication

through the Navajo language. The use of the code itself is interesting, but the story of Ned Begay is even more so.

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LibraryThing member NoOne22

this book is very good and i liked it alot.the end

LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin

This book tells the story of a largely unknown piece of World War II history – the role of Navajo Indians in creating a secret code to keep military secrets out of the hands of the Japanese. The story begins with Ned Begay, a Navajo boy, going off to boarding school to learn English. In school,

the Navajo children are treated badly by the white administrators and teachers, who insult them because of their heritage and try to get the children to forget the Navajo language and culture. However, when World War II breaks out, the Marines begin actively recruiting men who can speak both English and Navajo. Ned, who has to pretend he is older than he is in order to enlist, joins the Marines and becomes one of the secret code talkers, who use the Navajo language to create messages that the Japanese will not be able to understand if they intercept. Ned is soon shipped off to the Pacific and gives detailed accounts of the various battles there. Code Talker is a piece of fiction that reads almost like a memoir. This book is a great tool for learning history, for both children and adults, giving accounts that are not usually covered in introductory textbooks. Instead of focusing on what was going on in Europe during World War II, here we get to see what was happening in the Pacific side of the war and we learn about the covert code operation, which was not publicly released until a couple of decades after the war was finished. The book also covers other deep topics such as prejudice and stereotyping, providing fodder for interesting discussions. This book is dense to read though, and I would recommend taking your time with this one, letting the information sink in before barreling on to the next chapter.

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LibraryThing member caro488

Bruchac, Joseph, Code Talker, WWII Navajo boys lots of war history

LibraryThing member NMkimdykstra

Personal response to the book:

First of all, I had long wanted to read this book. The middle school students at my school are required to read this book. I work at Rehoboth Christian School, which evolved from the Rehoboth Boarding School mentioned in the story. My library is dedicated to the Navajo

Codetalkers, therefore I have actually met some of the Codetalkers mentioned in this story.

Due to my personal experiences with the area, and knowledge of the Codetalker story, I greatly enjoyed reading this story and doing some mental fact-checking. It seems that the story is fairly accurate aside for some geographical inconsistencies. My main issue with this book is that is moves a bit slowly at times, but still an enjoyable read.

Curricular connections (how you might use it with students in a classroom or school library) or programming connections (how you might use this book in a public library setting):

In the area where I work there is a lot of reason to integrate this book with the curriculum. My students are Navajo, and the work of the Codetalkers is a source of great pride for the Navajo people.

All of the middle school students at my school read this book. I'm not exactly sure what they do after reading it, but I know that they have to do some writing about how this book makes them feel. I could see great value in comparing this book with the movie "Windtalkers" or with an interview with an actual living Codetalker (which is something that can be arranged in the area I live in).

Personally, I believe that this book should be read in all regions to give students insight into the often overlooked contributions of the Navajo Codetalkers.

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LibraryThing member sapphireblueeye

For what it was, it was good. It just isn't my happy place in reading. It would be good for a high school history class. It teaches quite a bit about what happened in Asia during WWII, which seems to always be overlooked. I learned a bunch of the Navajos through this book, also. It is very well

researched.

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LibraryThing member corydickason

I thought the novel dealt deftly -- and rarely heavy-handedly -- with the weighty identity issues faced by a Navajo boy in an Indian school and with the horrible things seen by Marines during the second World War. I would use this book as part of a unit on WWII to broaden students' understanding of

the impact of the war beyond the Holocaust.

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LibraryThing member serenasungclarke

I thought this book started out well, but one-third of the way through, the narrator began just telling about the different battles and less about how this affected the Navajos and started droning on.

LibraryThing member ranaemathias

Ned Begay reminisces with his grandchildren about his time spent as a Navajo Code Talker during World War 2. At 16, after years in a white boarding school where no one was allowed to speak their native language, Ned lies about his age and signs up for the Army. Trying to escape the opression of the

white school, he thinks that life in the Army will at least allow him to grow. Never did he think that his native tongue would be so valued in this new life. His superiors have an idea to use a language the Japanese and German code breakers could never figure out for communicating on the battlefield. Ned and a select few other Najavos are trained by one of their own to be Code Talkers. Their task is to follow troops into battle and communicate through their native language about positions, strategies, commands, retreats and other important messages. Their strict code of confidentiality and honor serve to keep American troops alive. Through his story, Ned relates the war in realistic terms without sugar-coating. Without Code Talkers, the outcome of the war could have been vastly different. I really liked this book for its history, but also for the personal story told by Ned and all of the prejudice that was overcome by this elite group of men. I would recommend this book for high school as part of the American History curriculum. I think students will walk away with a different perspective of World War 2.

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LibraryThing member Bobby3457

This book describes how the Navajo Indians were a crucial part of world war two. They created the code that no other country could crack and helped us win the war in the Pacific. This book tells about a fictional caracter named Ned Begay who wants to go into the Marines to serve his country. He

faces battle just like any other Marine. He learns that about every Indian has the same nickname in their squad, Chief. First this book starts by telling how a Navajo is treated at the Boarding School that many of them went to. They were not allowed to speak their native language, but they did when the teachers were not around. As Ned goes through school he becomes particullarly fond of history and the history of the Japanese. He still thought highly of them even when they bombed pearl harbor. This isn't exactly a book about war but it is about the Navajo's and what they did to contribute to their country especially.

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LibraryThing member kayceel

My book group didn't like this - those who finished were bored by it. I felt it read too much like a nonfiction book that'd been last-minute turned into fiction. Felt as though the reader is being lectured to.

LibraryThing member Mparis

This is the story told by a Navajo grandfather about his harrowing, yet gratifying experience as a Navajo code talker in WWII. Ned Begay grew up being forced to learn English in a boarding school. He joins the marines when they recruit 29 young Navajo men for a special mission. They develop a code,

based on the Navajo language, that the Japanese will never break. We hear of his life in the War as he assists the war efforts with communications in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
While it starts rather slow, this book is very interesting. For those who have read Chester Nez's memoirs and enjoyed it, this may be a good book to recommend to your children to allow them into the world of the Code Talkers. I learned so much about the life of the Navajo while reading both of these books.
Classroom Connection: WWII, Navajo

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LibraryThing member quirkylibrarian

Bruchac is the "real deal". An American Indian and gifted storyteller, this is a narrative non-fiction work chronicling the Navajo Marines of World War II whose language was unbreakable by the Japanese. Their service was needed and accepted, but never celebrated or even acknowledged by the United

States military for many years. An interesting insight into a different culture with a war backdrop. Liked this one back in my YA Lit class and still appreciate Bruchac's work.

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LibraryThing member dretallick

loved the book. it tells the story of being a Navajo code translator in world war 2. The book talks about the fights he and his fellow solders went through. The Navajo language was used through the comunications in world war 2 because it was the only language that the Japaneses could not break.

LibraryThing member MrsHillReads

An interesting look at a part of history that is relatively unknown...loved reading about how something that was "bad" became a great code during the war.

LibraryThing member hailelib

This book went quickly, partly because it is a YA book but also because it was a novel about a subject that interests me and is written in an interesting style. Ned Begay is telling the story of his medal to the Grandchildren, starting at the very beginning when he was a small boy of six years. His

family was sending him to the mission school to learn English and the white men's ways. There he became Ned Begay instead of Kii Yazhi. When sixteen, the young man left school to enlist in the Marines for a special duty only for the Navajo. Although Ned Begay, our narrator, is fictional most of the other marines in this story of the Code Talkers work were real. Bruchac got much of his information from the remaining Code Talkers themselves and he gives us many details about both the Navajo experience and the war in the Pacific.

Recommended.

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LibraryThing member KamGeb

The story of the Navajo Code Talkers is interesting. However, the book was not that well written and I was bored while reading the book. I think I would have rather read a 1 page review of the book rather than the whole book.

LibraryThing member rgruberexcel

RGG: Story of the Navajo code talkers in the World War II Pacific front. Lots of historical details, but the recounting is somewhat dull.

LibraryThing member bridgetrwilson

Besides being a good read, this book was very informative. I know more about WWII than I ever did. The author effectively mixed fact with fiction to make a good story.

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