Honoring Veterans

Serving Those Who Serve

Children - Picture Book
31 Pages
Reviewed on 09/03/2025
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Eric Ferrar for Readers' Favorite

Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve by Karen Bowen is a heartfelt children's picture book about two friends, Sam and Miguel, who learn how to honor veterans on Veterans Day. The book explains the history of Veterans Day, its connection to Armistice Day, and other fascinating military traditions. This fun story follows Sam and Miguel as they attend a veterans' parade and observe soldiers from different military branches. The friends are taught the meaning of red poppies, which is an act of remembering veterans who lost their lives in battle. Miguel, whose father is a veteran, shares his personal feelings about his family's connections to this memorable day. After the parade, the children help serve lunch to the veterans and distribute care boxes with letters and other useful items. Overall, this heartwarming book will help children understand why honoring service members is so very important.

Karen Bowen's Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve is an excellent addition to any child's library. The writing is fun, educational, and friendly, combining storytelling with intriguing patriotic traditions. It teaches gratefulness, respect, and family pride. It even shows kids how simple acts—like serving lunches or creating care packages—can honor veterans. The colorful illustrations by Olha Tkachenko bring the story to life, keeping young readers engaged from start to finish. While reading this book, young readers will benefit from learning about empathy, history, and civic duty. Honoring Veterans is the perfect book for children who enjoy learning about real-life heroes, community involvement, or who have family members in the military. Altogether, it inspires admiration and gratitude for the veterans who protect our freedom every day.

Marie-Hélène Fasquel

Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve by Karen Bowen is a children’s book that is both entertaining and engaging. It is also beautifully illustrated by Olha Tkachenko. It is indeed very creative, and the lovely drawings help us feel what the characters experience. It is the story of two boys, Sam and Miguel, who try to find Miguel's father, who marches with his platoon during a Veterans Day parade. As they go, the boys are presented with moments of history, appreciation, and community service that complete their understanding of the day's importance.

Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve by Karen Bowen is not just about World War I but about all veterans. I love the clear and detailed information about the Veterans Day Parade. However, the plot does much more than just follow the parade: it subtly introduces children to the larger symbolism and traditions of Veterans Day. Kids learn about the meaning of poppies, how care packages are assembled for soldiers, and even the Marine Corps' motto. The book is completed with thoughtful additions: a glossary to clarify the most significant terms, a list of discussion questions to provoke thought and help us (parents, teachers) teach children, and the addition of John McCrae's famous poem In Flanders Fields, which anchors the history in literature. These turn a lovable and interesting story into a fabulous tool for teaching American history and culture. This children's book will delight kids, their parents, and teachers! It is a gem of a book.

Alissa Deann

Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve is a well-written children's book by Karen Bowen about two young boys, Sam and Miguel, as they experience a Veterans Day parade and participate in a community service project. Miguel's dad is a veteran, and the parade means a lot to him. The book uses their conversation to teach the history and meaning of Veterans Day, the significance of the red poppy, and the origins of Armistice Day. Sam and Miguel were able to learn about different branches of the military and some meaningful ways to show gratitude and respect to military heroes, like packing care boxes and writing letters.

This was indeed a fun read. I love how the author added history and complex veteran topics in a way that is accessible for young readers. The poems included made it full of life and gave me a deeper connection to the history behind the Veterans Day Parade. Karen Bowen did not just tell; instead, she showed in a detailed manner what it means to honor veterans, using Sam and Miguel to show it. Her writing is detailed, on-point, and fun. The illustrations were visually appealing—colorful and full of small details that children can spend time looking at. I recommend Honoring Veterans: Serving Those Who Serve to parents and teachers who want to teach children about gratitude, patriotism, and the importance of remembering those who have served the country. It is about honoring veterans, not just on a single day, but with continuous appreciation.