Honor Flight: Celebrating America’s Veterans

A U.S. veteran narrates a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the military memorials of Washington, D.C., in a deeply felt picture book from the previous collaborators that highlights the work of Honor Flight—a volunteer-run program that takes veterans to the U.S. capitol. Often speaking in a collective we, a nameless narrator tells readers, “Call me Kilroy. Squid. G.I. Joe. Airman, Jarhead, WAC or WAVE. I’m an aging veteran of the United States Armed Forces” before acknowledging actions taken “as warriors” and “as peacemakers.” Some veterans, matter-of-fact text contextualizes, “came home to joy, others to curses. Some never came home.” And as time moves forward, “death does not frighten us.... What scares us is being forgotten.” When a phone call proffers an Honor Flight invitation, the narrator regards it as a “final mission.” And as the protagonist and assigned companion tour locales including the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they connect with other veterans, forging new memories and a feeling of shared purpose. In a hyperrealistic style that mimics photography’s sharp detail and bold lighting, pencil-drawn and digitally colored illustrations pay powerful homage. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Includes extensive back matter. Ages 7–10. (Mar.)