Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

With every step, the Tomb Guards pay homage to America's fallen. Discover their story, and that of the unknown soldiers they honor, through resonant words and illustrations.

Keeping vigil at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Arlington National Cemetery, are the sentinel guards, whose every step, every turn, honors and remembers America's fallen. They protect fellow soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, making sure they are never alone. To stand there--with absolute precision, in every type of weather, at every moment of the day, one in a line uninterrupted since midnight July 2, 1937--is the ultimate privilege and the most difficult post to earn in the army. Everything these men and women do is in service to the Unknowns. Their standard is perfection.

Exactly how the unnamed men came to be entombed at Arlington, and exactly how their fellow soldiers have come to keep vigil over them, is a sobering and powerful tale, told by Jeff Gottesfeld and luminously illustrated by Matt Tavares--a tale that honors the soldiers who honor the fallen.

Author: Jeff Gottesfeld
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 02/12/2021
Pages: 32
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.28lbs
Size: 11.90h x 10.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781536201482
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 511654 / Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/01/2021
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2021
School Library Journal 02/01/2021 pg. 84
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2021 pg. 113
Shelf Awareness 03/16/2021

About the Author
Jeff Gottesfeld is an acclaimed writer whose work has won awards from the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the National Council for the Social Studies. He has previously written for adult, teen, middle-grade, and picture book audiences. Jeff Gottesfeld is based in Los Angeles.

Matt Tavares is the author-illustrator of Crossing Niagara, Henry Aaron's Dream, There Goes Ted Williams, Becoming Babe Ruth, and Growing Up Pedro, as well as Zachary's Ball, Oliver's Game, and Mudball. He is the illustrator of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Over the River and Through the Wood, Lady Liberty by Doreen Rappaport, The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup, and Jubilee! by Alicia Potter. He is also the creator of the modern Christmas tales Red and Lulu and the New York Times bestseller Dasher. Matt Tavares lives in Ogunquit, Maine.