You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Secret Agent During World War II!: A Perilous Mission Behind Enemy Lines
The You Wouldn’t Want To . . . series has long been taking the stuffing out of both relatively glamorous personages (Cleopatra) and obviously doomed career choices (Salem witch). A bit of reverse psychology here and loads of irresistible historical details there combine with cartoony visuals and glib humor to make these titles plenty educational but just plain fun to read as well. You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Secret Agent during World War II! might just convince kids that they would want to be a WWII spy, trained in the fine art of subterfuge and outfitted with all kinds of real-life cloak-and-dagger gizmos. Readers go on a sabotage run behind enemy lines in German-occupied France, and the successful detonation will have them itching for the next mission. A few design tweaks, such as boxing and ordering some of the many blocks of texts competing for attention, would help the pages seem less cluttered, but these books are great treats to reward historically inquisitive minds. Grades 3-5. --Ian Chipman