Author: Paul Janeczko
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 978-0763629724
For anyone who might still not know, on Monday April 16th the "Spies, Codes, and Ciphers" program will begin at Norway. In honor of that this month I am blogging about spies, mysteries, and other books that could be relevant!
I have absolutely fallen in love with Paul Janeczko and his books. Before I started researching for our program I only knew Paul as a poet. His poetry is excellent, don't get me wrong, but poetry just never seems very excited. I don't get totally psyched to read poetry. Even more so I find it VERY easy to put down books of poetry and well, never pick it up again. That is never the case with Top Secret.
Top Secret is a non-fiction book that reads like a guide. This is the sort of book that two best friends would love to receive copies of. Paul explains step by step how different codes were formed and used historically as well as giving examples for children to try so that you can learn how to effectively encode, and decode your messages.
Personally one of the my favorite chapters is the one on Ciphers which describes how codes differ from ciphers, how to tell them apart, and most importantly which is most secure! Next week the kids will have a chance to try their hands at different ciphers. However, if you aren't attending our program please pick up this book and explore all the different activities with your favorite child. You definitely won't regret the time you spend working together!
(P.S. Have I ever mentioned how difficult it is to review books with a cat who insists on trying to help you type?)
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