Raid of No Return: A World War II Tale of the Doolittle Raid

As in other entries in the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series, the American patriot Nathan Hale has another story of historical derring-do for his captors. Following the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a group of pilots volunteers for a secret mission. With absolutely no knowledge of the purpose of the mission and after weeks of bizarre training, the 16 bombing teams are finally told what their mission would be: to bomb Tokyo and create uncertainty within the empire. As always, Hale's strength comes from the details. His maps and charts cogently capture the history and vast scale of these events the before and after drawings of Pearl Harbor are especially harrowing but he also pinpoints human impact in the tiny stories that accompany the overarching narrative, like the gunner who broke his glasses and couldn't see clearly yet continued with the mission. Since this is still a relatively unknown part of American history, readers of all ages will be on edge to see who survives and the results of the possibly doomed mission. Another victory for a perennially useful series.--Peter Blenski Copyright 2018 Booklist

Nathan Hale, Revolutionary War hero, continues to distract his executioners in this seventh graphic novel. The focus here is on the United States' secret Doolittle air raid on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As always, irreverent humor makes a complicated and harrowing story more accessible; readers will appreciate the compelling history lesson (provided they're not put off by the small panel illustrations and tiny type). Bib. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As in other entries in the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series, the American patriot Nathan Hale has another story of historical derring-do for his captors. Following the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a group of pilots volunteers for a secret mission. With absolutely no knowledge of the purpose of the mission and after weeks of bizarre training, the 16 bombing teams are finally told what their mission would be: to bomb Tokyo and create uncertainty within the empire. As always, Hale's strength comes from the details. His maps and charts cogently capture the history and vast scale of these events—the before and after drawings of Pearl Harbor are especially harrowing—but he also pinpoints human impact in the tiny stories that accompany the overarching narrative, like the gunner who broke his glasses and couldn't see clearly yet continued with the mission. Since this is still a relatively unknown part of American history, readers of all ages will be on edge to see who survives and the results of the possibly doomed mission. Another victory for a perennially useful series. Grades 4-7. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.