“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth/And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings … while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod/The high untrespassed sanctity of space/Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.” First published in a Pittsburgh newspaper in 1941 just before his untimely death, RCAF pilot John Magee’s famous sonnet quickly appeared on posters in every airfield in the British Empire. Airmen adopted it as an anthem, Orson Welles recorded it, Apollo 15 pilot James Irwin carried a copy to the moon, President Reagan quoted it after the Challenger disaster, and it was used at Alan Shepard’s funeral. The original is in the Library of Congress.

This picture-book-style history begins with the poet’s childhood in Shanghai as the eldest son of American/English missionaries. Educated at Rugby School in England, he won the same poetry prize as his idol Rupert Brooke. At 18, he was accepted by Yale but instead joined the RCAF in Montreal and was posted to Lincolnshire, where he died in a training accident.

Like Linda Granfield’s In Flanders Fields, this book is a simple, dignified narrative replete with Canadian and British references. A host of historians and military personnel from several countries assisted with research for the work, as did John’s three brothers, who shared family recollections. Michael Martchenko’s many illustrations are lovingly and accurately rendered, especially the centrefold dogfight and cover art. They provide a welcome and accessible visual context for the story. As most of the historical, political, and geographical details will be unfamiliar to young readers, teachers and parents may need supplementary sources to explain many of the events mentioned in passing. Recommended for Remembrance Day units for ages eight to 10.