One of the books nominated for the 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award is Joseph Bruchac's Code Talker. Like the Nicholas Cage film Windtalkers (2002), this books tells the story of young Navaho men who joined the US Army and were used as communicators and translaters for the Navaho code that was never broken by the Germans. As I read the book I could see flashes from the movie illustrating of the many scenes. The plight of the Navaho people starts the book off as young Navahos taught in special white schools are told that their language is forbidden. Then World War II comes and the Navaho language now has a special place in the war effort. After the Navaho men are trained for the army and sent to the war front, the author gives us a real taste of battle conditions for whites and native Americans both.
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