About this item

Billie has lived with her great-aunt ever since her mom passed away and her dad left. Billie's big brother, Leo, is about to leave, too, for the warfront. But first, she gets one more weekend with him at the ranch.Billie's surprised when Leo brings home a fellow Marine from boot camp, Denny. She has so much to ask Leo -- about losing her best friend and trying to find their father -- but Denny, who is Navajo, or Din, comes with something special: a gorgeous, but injured, stray dog. As Billie cares for the dog, whom they name Bear, she and Bear grow deeply attached to each other.Soon enough, it's time for Leo and Denny, a Navajo Code Talker, to ship out. Billie does her part for the war effort, but she worries whether Leo and Denny will make it home, whether she'll find a new friend, and if her father will ever come back. Can Bear help Billie -- and Denny -- find what's most importantA powerful tale about unsung heroism on the WWII battlefield and the home front.



About the Author

Kirby Larson

I was born at Fort Lawton Army Hospital in Seattle and haven't moved very far from there since. An avid reader and writer, it wasn't until I heard a snippet of a story about my great-grandmother homesteading by herself in eastern Montana that I found my true calling: writing historical fiction. My great-grandmother's experiences inspired my first novel, HATTIE BIG SKY (Newbery honor award) and I haven't looked back, writing titles such as THE FRIENDSHIP DOLL, HATTIE EVER AFTER, DASH (Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Prize winner) , DUKE, LIBERTY, AUDACITY JONES TO THE RESCUE, AUDACITY JONES STEALS THE SHOW, and the forthcoming, CODE WORD COURAGE.My dear friend, Mary Nethery, and I have co-written two nonfiction picture books celebrating interspecies friendships: TWO BOBBIES: A TRUE STORY OF HURRICANE KATRINA, FRIENDSHIP AND SURVIVAL (Henry Bergh ASPCA Award winner) and NUBS: THE TRUE STORY OF A MUTT, A MARINE AND A MIRACLE (Christopher Medal Award winner) . A third collaboration is in the works!If you want to know more about what I'm up to, it's easy to subscribe to my newsletter-- just click on the "subscribe" button at my website, kirbylarson.com. Every Friday on my blog, I shine the spotlight on a fellow artist's latest book. You can check that out at kirbylarson.com/blog.



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