For young history lovers, Spy on History has it all – mystery, intrigue, suspense, historical facts, and an exciting spy activity to complete – all packed into a 95-page hardcover book. While generally following the adventures of the US Army’s 603^rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion as they travel across Europe assisting in the defeat of the Germans, this book focuses on one real-life Sergeant named Victor Dowd. It introduces the reader to him and tells of his background growing up and working as an artist in Brooklyn, NY.

About one thousand young artists were commissioned by the United States Army to serve in this special unit, alongside radio and sound operators. Their assignment was to setup a ‘ghost army’ made up of inflatables and special effects that would deceive the opposition. They knew their operation was a success if the Germans began firing on their position, even though they were not an artillery unit and had no means to defend themselves or fire back.

With a target audience of 8-12-year-old readers, this story seeks to draw the readers in by giving them a top-secret mission: to find Sergeant Dowd’s missing sketchbook. He had used it to draw and remember not only the details of his deployment, but also interesting people he had met along the way. Towards the end of the story it came up missing, swept up in the chaos of a last battle.

Inside the front pages of this book, there’s a sealed envelope where the reader will find various ‘spy tools’ to help them decode the mystery. Clues are left on pages throughout the book, some in obvious places but others hidden, only able to be seen by using a red plastic filter that is included. Once the reader cracks the code, they can unseal the solution in the back of the book to check their theory.

In our family, we have readers who love history and enjoy mysteries, so this book was well loved and enjoyed. Not only was it incredibly interesting and well written, making the story come alive with excitement, but it was also very educational. Little has been written about these Ghost Army units that supported the Allied Forces. Until their documents were declassified in 1996, they had remained a top-secret, yet integral part of the Allied victory.

Every family member who read this book, from youngest to even the adults, learned new and interesting facts about World War II. Each of us attempted to solve the mystery using the tools and clues that were sprinkled throughout the book. I would also like to make a special mention of the illustrations in the book. Easy to read and historically accurate maps help the reader define the location of the setting of the story. There are also wonderfully detailed drawings of World War II soldiers and scenery, done in a comic style that is appealing to the target audience, though not childish in any way.

If you have a middle school student who enjoys war stories or mysteries, they will devour this book, and we highly recommend it. It is currently available on the publisher’s website for $12.95. There are other Spy on History books in the series that we will be looking into purchasing to complete our collection.

-Product review by Erica Beyea, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March, 2018