Fact Friday: Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars by Laurie Wallmark

Image: Abrams

Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars by Laurie Wallmark. Illustrated by Brooke Smart. 32 p. Amulet Books for Young Readers/ Abrams, March 2, 2021. 9781419739637. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publicist, Blue Slip Media.)

Happy Friday! You made it! Another week down. I cannot believe it's March! (I also can't believe we are approach one year of online school!) The sun is rising earlier and earlier and setting later and later. That alone is enough to lift my mood. There was a bright half-moon in the sky when I took the hounds for a trot a little after five this morning. I am thankful that their needs get me out and moving many times a day.

Fact Friday features Code Breaker, Spy hunter: How Elizebeth Friedman Changed the Course of Two World Wars by Laurie Wallmark. This picture book biography had it's book birthday on Tuesday and is a perfect kick-off to Women's History Month. 

Elizebeth Smith was born in 1892. As a child, she loved to read, especially the works of William Shakespeare. She also had a talent for learning languages, so when she went to college, she studied English literature as well as Latin, Greek and German. She worked for a time as a school principal, but what she really wanted was a job in research or literature. 

A side visit to the Newberry Library to see a famous collection of Shakespeare's play, led to a conversation with the librarian, which led to her meeting an eccentric millionaire named Georg Fabyan, who was convinced that Shakespeare had not written the plays. He thought that Francis Bacon had and that the plays contained secret codes. He hired Elizebeth to crack the codes. She worked for him for four years. 

She did not find evidence of secret codes, but met and fell in love with a scientist named William Friedman. They shared their love of codes together. By this time, America had entered World War I and the government needed code breakers. Elizebeth and Richard developed code-breaking techniques and eventually moved to Washington D.C. to work for the Army. Their work is considered the beginning of modern cryptography. She broke codes in two World Wars. Her work led to the capture of Nazi spies, but she never received credit. Her work was classified as "Top Secret Ultra" and was declassified in 2015. 

The striking art, which was hand-painted in watercolor, then digitally assembled, features a varied palette, individuals with very large eyes and ribbons of code threading throughout the spreads. Quotes by Ms. Friedman are also sprinkled throughout the text. 

Back matter consists of more information about codes and ciphers, instructions for cracking codes, information about modern cryptography and a timeline. Bibliography and source notes are placed on the rear end-page. The story actually begins on the front end-page and there's a secret message hidden under the front flap. (The placement of these are unfortunate for copies that will become part of library collections.)

Reading picture book biographies are great ways of exploring a variety of subjects before committing to reading a full-length biography. Code Breaker, Spy Hunter would interest anyone, but if you enjoy the challenge of solving puzzles, check it out!

Bonus features:

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark has written picture-book biographies of women in STEM fields ranging from computer science to mathematics, astronomy to code breaking. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Cook Prize Honor, and Parents’; Choice Gold Medal. She is a former software engineer and computer science professor. She lives in Ringoes, New Jersey. You can find her at lauriewallmark.com.

On Twitter: @lauriewallmark

Facebook: @lauriewallmarkauthor

Instagram: @lauriewallmark


Brooke Smart loves telling stories through her illustrations, especially stories about brave women from history. She has always loved to read, and growing up she could be found nightly falling asleep with a book on her chest. Illustrating books as a professional artist is a lifelong dream come true. She is living the busy, tired, happy, wonderful dream in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their three kids, and their naughty cat named Sunshine. Learn more about her at brooke-smart.com.

Instagram: @bookesmartillustration


Check out the Code Breaker, Spy Hunter book page, where you'll find a trailer, cool activity sheets, and more!

Also, here's a link to a PBS documentary.

ETA: I post these to my Library Links page in our school's learning platform. I received a text from an LA teacher telling me that one of her students got so excited about reading the post, he exclaimed out loud, thereby revealing the fact that he wasn't doing the work he needed to do in class;-). She found it amusing.