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Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #7
Raid of No Return
A top secret mission needs volunteers.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States joined World War II. And soon after that, young pilots were recruited for a very secret - and very dangerous - raid on Japan. No one in the armed forces had done anything like this raid before, and none of the volunteers expected to escape with their lives. But this was a war unlike any other before, which called for creative thinking as well as bravery.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States joined World War II. And soon after that, young pilots were recruited for a very secret - and very dangerous - raid on Japan. No one in the armed forces had done anything like this raid before, and none of the volunteers expected to escape with their lives. But this was a war unlike any other before, which called for creative thinking as well as bravery.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2017
633 people are currently reading
1443 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Hale
118 books826 followersNathan Hale is the New York Times best-selling author/illustrator of the Hazardous Tales series, as well as many picture books including Yellowbelly and Plum go to School, the Twelve Bots of Christmas and The Devil You Know.
He is the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel, Calamity Jack. He also illustrated Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, Animal House and many others.
(He is not the author of Extinction Earth or the other apocalyptic titles listed. That's a different Nathan Hale. If someone with "librarian" status would disambiguate those titles for me, I'd appreciate it.)
Learn more at www.spacestationnathan.blogspot.com
He is the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel, Calamity Jack. He also illustrated Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, Animal House and many others.
(He is not the author of Extinction Earth or the other apocalyptic titles listed. That's a different Nathan Hale. If someone with "librarian" status would disambiguate those titles for me, I'd appreciate it.)
Learn more at www.spacestationnathan.blogspot.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews
November 14, 2017
So, I actually teared up quite a bit at the end of this.
As Hale points out (both Nathan Hale the narrator and Nathan Hale the author) it would be too hard to cover all of Word War II in one book. There are entire libraries devoted to it. And so he takes on just one mission: the Doolittle raid that followed Pearl Harbor. We hear so much about Pearl Harbor, and how it was the tipping point that put America into the war, but very rarely do people talk about what happened after. Hale covers it here in his usual style, succinct and respectful, yet humorous as well.
This is an excellent addition to his wonderful series.
As Hale points out (both Nathan Hale the narrator and Nathan Hale the author) it would be too hard to cover all of Word War II in one book. There are entire libraries devoted to it. And so he takes on just one mission: the Doolittle raid that followed Pearl Harbor. We hear so much about Pearl Harbor, and how it was the tipping point that put America into the war, but very rarely do people talk about what happened after. Hale covers it here in his usual style, succinct and respectful, yet humorous as well.
This is an excellent addition to his wonderful series.
January 6, 2018
I've read all of the Hazardous Tales books, and I feel that this is the weakest entry so far. First, none of the characters really stand out. Perhaps it is because they are all wearing similar uniforms, but it's harder to keep track of all the names of the characters when compared with other Hazardous Tales books. A little more variety in the character designs would help make that a little easier. Second, the story doesn't really show what happens on the ground in a bombing raid. That kind of depersonalizes the action in this book, and makes the story feel a little more one-sided than the other Hazardous Tales books. Overall, it is still a good book. It's just not as good as the other entries in this series.
January 16, 2018
Another fabulous entry in this historical graphic novel series! My son is really into WWII planes because of the video game WarThunder, so he especially enjoyed it. But the rest of the family liked it too!
September 13, 2025
"Awesome. So good!!!! I think everybody should love this! 5 stars, I loved it."
-My 7yo
-My 7yo
June 20, 2024
The Hazardous Tales series is the series I use when kids say that nonfiction is boring AND when teachers say that graphic novels aren’t complex because this series, and this book, is complex, interesting, well crafted, funny, and just everything you’d want from any book, much less a nonfiction graphic novel.
And I am so happy to have a World War II Tale because so many students ask for it, and this is a new story for me, so I know it’ll be new for my students as well. Also, I think this specific mission will lead to many discussions because the idea of volunteering for a deadly mission is something that so many of my students struggle to understand because it isn’t something that they need to even consider, so to look at these men’s decision-making and willingness to fight for their country.
Full review with teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=1...
And I am so happy to have a World War II Tale because so many students ask for it, and this is a new story for me, so I know it’ll be new for my students as well. Also, I think this specific mission will lead to many discussions because the idea of volunteering for a deadly mission is something that so many of my students struggle to understand because it isn’t something that they need to even consider, so to look at these men’s decision-making and willingness to fight for their country.
Full review with teaching tools: http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=1...
July 26, 2021
I’m sure glad I ran across this series. It has given me lots of history, lots of entertainment, and lots of giggles!
Volume 7, Raid of No Return, describes the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Japan by United States forces.. Previously I wasn’t aware of this war maneuver, having not been taught it in school and avoiding war movies and books as I grew up.
The graphics that author Nathan Hale provides work well with the subject. This is one of the better volumes in both visual and story layout.
I recommend reading the series in order of publication because there are backstories of the “narrators”. If you do, you’ll also be able to notice references to previous tales. I was happy to see ponies mentioned in the end pages of this volume! Don’t hurt the ponies!
Volume 7, Raid of No Return, describes the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, Japan by United States forces.. Previously I wasn’t aware of this war maneuver, having not been taught it in school and avoiding war movies and books as I grew up.
The graphics that author Nathan Hale provides work well with the subject. This is one of the better volumes in both visual and story layout.
I recommend reading the series in order of publication because there are backstories of the “narrators”. If you do, you’ll also be able to notice references to previous tales. I was happy to see ponies mentioned in the end pages of this volume! Don’t hurt the ponies!
March 13, 2018
Cross=posted from the reviewer's personal goodreads account
Hale, Nathan Raid of No Return : A World War II Tale GRAPHIC NOVEL. Amulet Books, 2017, $12.99. Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (War injuries).
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Navy attacked American ships at Pearl Harbor Hawaii, beginning the American involvement in World War II. It was a sneak attack, and happened before Japan officially declared War. So, by February 1942, the United States had planned a sneak attack of their own- Bomb Tokyo. Navy Colonel - and stunt pilot - Jimmy Doolittle took over the training of a group of Army Air Corps bomber pilots for a raid on Japan. This super secret mission was nearly impossible to pull off, and the most dangerous assignment any of these 80 crew members would ever undertake.
This action packed graphic novel tells the story of the Doolittle Raid, from the training, through the bombings and the aftermath, it is the perfect way to learn this story. We see the attack from the perspective of each bomber and we learn of the fate of the crew members. I cried at the end. It’s a story of WWII that shouldn’t be forgotten. Well done Nathan Hale.
MS - ESSENTIAL Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
Hale, Nathan Raid of No Return : A World War II Tale GRAPHIC NOVEL. Amulet Books, 2017, $12.99. Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (War injuries).
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese Navy attacked American ships at Pearl Harbor Hawaii, beginning the American involvement in World War II. It was a sneak attack, and happened before Japan officially declared War. So, by February 1942, the United States had planned a sneak attack of their own- Bomb Tokyo. Navy Colonel - and stunt pilot - Jimmy Doolittle took over the training of a group of Army Air Corps bomber pilots for a raid on Japan. This super secret mission was nearly impossible to pull off, and the most dangerous assignment any of these 80 crew members would ever undertake.
This action packed graphic novel tells the story of the Doolittle Raid, from the training, through the bombings and the aftermath, it is the perfect way to learn this story. We see the attack from the perspective of each bomber and we learn of the fate of the crew members. I cried at the end. It’s a story of WWII that shouldn’t be forgotten. Well done Nathan Hale.
MS - ESSENTIAL Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
December 15, 2018
This series makes me feel embarrassed about the huge gaps in my knowledge of American History -- here, regarding the high-risk, top-secret mission to retaliate for the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Powerful story of ingenuity, sacrifice, and bravery that doesn't shy away from the brutal consequences and destruction of war. With such a heavy subject, some of the humor feels a bit out of place, but as in previous books in the series, I'm impressed with the author's level of research (as demonstrated by the bibliography, notes, and photos at the end) for the sake of historical and visual accuracy.
June 27, 2018
4.5
I just love this series and I am anxious for more to be published. There is so much information packed in this book and it honestly always seems to exceed my expectations. I cannot imagine living during World War II and witnessing all of the pain caused by the war. There were so many brave men and women in the world who did heroic things, big and small, all throughout the war. The Doolittle Raid is an incredible story and the author did a solid job of introducing the events surrounding Pearl Harbor as well.
I just love this series and I am anxious for more to be published. There is so much information packed in this book and it honestly always seems to exceed my expectations. I cannot imagine living during World War II and witnessing all of the pain caused by the war. There were so many brave men and women in the world who did heroic things, big and small, all throughout the war. The Doolittle Raid is an incredible story and the author did a solid job of introducing the events surrounding Pearl Harbor as well.
November 8, 2022
Excellent as always, but, wow, did this have a ton of storylines! I admire Nathan Hale's bravery in tackling a story with this many diverging characters, and by in large, he was successful! I was engrossed, and as soon as I finished, I went to find out more about these amazing folks in our history!
November 25, 2017
I love this series!
November 23, 2024
Once again, these surprisingly informative little books do a far more thorough job of explaining in detail both Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Doolittle Raid on Tokyo than any Hollywood dramatization; and once again, I learned a LOT.
"After" map of "before & after" images of Pearl Harbor
Technical details, like how the Japanese modified their torpedoes with a simple wooden device so that they were "swim" above the torpedo nets that protected the harbor; or how an art student turned B-25 captain invented a simple 25¢ paper gadget to replace the billion dollar (and 250 lb) Norden bombsight in order to minimize the weight of the attacking planes. But even more interesting were details of the Tokyo raid and its aftermath.
Unlike the raid as portrayed by Ben Affleck and Michael Bay, the 16 aircraft and crews suffered widely dispersed and wildly different fates. Three planes sunk at sea (with the loss of three airmen), while eleven other crews bailed out before their planes crashed. The remaining two landed "safely;" one in Japanese-controlled China where it was burned, the other in Russia where it's crew was interned and subsequently relocated to Turkmenistan, from where they ultimately escaped to Iran and found sanctuary at the British consulate there a full year after the raid.
Two crews were rescued and aided by the Chinese resistance; two others were captured by the Japanese where three flyers were eventually executed and four others remained as POWs until 1945. And the last survivor of the raid — Doolittle's copilot, Richard E. Cole — finally passed away in 2019 at the age of 104.
I didn't intentionally read this right on the heels of The Grubby Little Men Who Raped Hong Kong: The True Story of the St Stephen's College Massacre, December 1941; it was just a coincidence of library availability. But it again painted a stark picture of just what absolute bastards the Japanese were during the war, (as opposed to the pleasant and polite Japanese I'm more familiar with today). The Japanese continued hunting for any surviving flyers for over a year, with the book stating simple (if horrifically) that "during the search and reprisal attacks, the Japanese Imperial Army took an estimated 250,000 Chinese lives" — and remember, of course, that the Chinese had nothing to do with the raid itself.
Stirring and well-told story about a difficult time in world history, but reading this while following Russia's aggression in Ukraine is frankly discouraging and more than a little frightening, especially when I consider what the results of that conflict might mean for my extended family in Taiwan. Can't we just stop killing each other, people?
"After" map of "before & after" images of Pearl Harbor
Technical details, like how the Japanese modified their torpedoes with a simple wooden device so that they were "swim" above the torpedo nets that protected the harbor; or how an art student turned B-25 captain invented a simple 25¢ paper gadget to replace the billion dollar (and 250 lb) Norden bombsight in order to minimize the weight of the attacking planes. But even more interesting were details of the Tokyo raid and its aftermath.
Unlike the raid as portrayed by Ben Affleck and Michael Bay, the 16 aircraft and crews suffered widely dispersed and wildly different fates. Three planes sunk at sea (with the loss of three airmen), while eleven other crews bailed out before their planes crashed. The remaining two landed "safely;" one in Japanese-controlled China where it was burned, the other in Russia where it's crew was interned and subsequently relocated to Turkmenistan, from where they ultimately escaped to Iran and found sanctuary at the British consulate there a full year after the raid.
Two crews were rescued and aided by the Chinese resistance; two others were captured by the Japanese where three flyers were eventually executed and four others remained as POWs until 1945. And the last survivor of the raid — Doolittle's copilot, Richard E. Cole — finally passed away in 2019 at the age of 104.
I didn't intentionally read this right on the heels of The Grubby Little Men Who Raped Hong Kong: The True Story of the St Stephen's College Massacre, December 1941; it was just a coincidence of library availability. But it again painted a stark picture of just what absolute bastards the Japanese were during the war, (as opposed to the pleasant and polite Japanese I'm more familiar with today). The Japanese continued hunting for any surviving flyers for over a year, with the book stating simple (if horrifically) that "during the search and reprisal attacks, the Japanese Imperial Army took an estimated 250,000 Chinese lives" — and remember, of course, that the Chinese had nothing to do with the raid itself.
Stirring and well-told story about a difficult time in world history, but reading this while following Russia's aggression in Ukraine is frankly discouraging and more than a little frightening, especially when I consider what the results of that conflict might mean for my extended family in Taiwan. Can't we just stop killing each other, people?
October 20, 2018
As with his other books in the Hazardous Tales series, Nathan Hale takes an historical event and turns it into a graphic novel. While the event is nonfiction, there is no way to know exactly what was said by what person when, so it's been fictionalized. But these stories are very compelling and a great way to get young readers interested in history. This tale focuses on a mission to avenge the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. It's intention was to make the Japanese people nervous about the military's ability to protect them. The mission was audacious in the extreme. And the pilots and crews recruited to fly the bombers knew going in that the chances were good they wouldn't make it home. But they chose to go anyway. Hale does a great job of showing the challenges of the mission and the courage of those involved. This is another great book in a fabulous series.
April 1, 2021
A bit of blood, nothing gruesome.
Also one or two mild swear words (I think in quotes).
Overall, really well done!
I didn’t previously know very much about air raids from a pilot’s perspective, so this was really interesting!
Also one or two mild swear words (I think in quotes).
Overall, really well done!
I didn’t previously know very much about air raids from a pilot’s perspective, so this was really interesting!
April 11, 2025
Nathan Hale does it again! My fourth graders love these books, and so do I! I've read about half of the series, and I love how I always come away knowing more about a certain time period in history. I knew zero about the Doolittle raid and found it very interesting! I'm also not typically a fan of graphic novels, but I think these are well done and are better as graphic novels than they would be as regular books. I'm going to a student's 10th birthday party tomorrow, and this book is his gift! He's read the rest of the series.
UPDATE: As a family, we recently listened to the audiobook biography of Jacob DeShazer. I didn’t know anything about him but knew he was connected to Japan. He was one of the Doolittle Raiders who was a POW and then he went back to Japan as a missionary. Listening to that made me want to read this book again. And since we live fairly close to Dayton, Ohio, we went to the Air Force museum where we saw the silver goblets explained in both books. So cool!
UPDATE: As a family, we recently listened to the audiobook biography of Jacob DeShazer. I didn’t know anything about him but knew he was connected to Japan. He was one of the Doolittle Raiders who was a POW and then he went back to Japan as a missionary. Listening to that made me want to read this book again. And since we live fairly close to Dayton, Ohio, we went to the Air Force museum where we saw the silver goblets explained in both books. So cool!
February 18, 2018
It took me awhile to get into this one, but at some point I realized I was totally hooked and was going to read all of the rest of it in one sitting, thank you very much! And I did!
One thing I really love about this series is how Hale really brings to life the individuals involved, and just...little events that are interesting that get lost in accounts that have a much broader focus. And of course, the humor.
Others apparently think this is one of the weaker books so far, but I disagree, and I think it's actually one of my favorites. So there!
One thing I really love about this series is how Hale really brings to life the individuals involved, and just...little events that are interesting that get lost in accounts that have a much broader focus. And of course, the humor.
Others apparently think this is one of the weaker books so far, but I disagree, and I think it's actually one of my favorites. So there!
January 10, 2018
One of my least favorite books are historic fiction. This book, however, kept me reading till the very end. The story is emotional, and you are kept hooked into what happens next. Humor is put in to keep the reader amused from time to time. This book doesn't disappoint the other entries in the series.
March 29, 2018
- I'm a Hazardous Tales fan, and this is now one of my favorites in the series.
- The story and characters were a little more serious, and I really appreciated that. I enjoy the silliness, but it can get too silly sometimes.
- I didn't know about this mission to Japan. I really enjoy learning new things about history, and I like that Nathan Hale tells history in fun ways.
- The story and characters were a little more serious, and I really appreciated that. I enjoy the silliness, but it can get too silly sometimes.
- I didn't know about this mission to Japan. I really enjoy learning new things about history, and I like that Nathan Hale tells history in fun ways.
April 9, 2018
A student recommended this book to me, and I can see why he loved it. I did not. It was okay, but I never became invested in the story of Doolittle's Raid, which is quite a fascinating story. And I struggled to really get to know the pilots enough to care about their fates. It was very difficult for me to keep them straight. This was informative but underwhelming.
January 24, 2018
Another spectacular history graphic novel from Nathan Hale. This one covers the 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which US bombers targeted Tokyo after Pearl Harbor. As usual, it made me want to know more.
September 10, 2024
I thought it was a really fun book! But it had two bad words in it. But other than that it was pretty fun!
April 21, 2023
A plane stands surrounded by unfamiliar engineers. Confronted by the crew, the engineers respond with a foreshadowing statement: [We're removing everything]. The goal? To make room for fuel. Missing everything but the bare necessities, this empty plane stand as an analogy for the nature of their mission; no planning beyond the goals. This is the raid of no return, the bombing of cities across Japan.
A well written informative piece, this book covers not only the actual event but the context surrounding it. It talks of the ways the tension built between the forces, the dire nature to the conflict up until and after, and the confusion surrounding the mission. Nothing was known of what it was before it, and nobody knew what to do next during. That after, the wander across dangerous, enemy territories, working with those who dared to resist is catalogued as a necessary part to telling this story, and this book does it well. I would surely recommend it for a reading list.
Still, you may not have a list; you may just read whatever is next, improvise your path. As seen in this book, that does tend to work. Well, at least half the time.
A well written informative piece, this book covers not only the actual event but the context surrounding it. It talks of the ways the tension built between the forces, the dire nature to the conflict up until and after, and the confusion surrounding the mission. Nothing was known of what it was before it, and nobody knew what to do next during. That after, the wander across dangerous, enemy territories, working with those who dared to resist is catalogued as a necessary part to telling this story, and this book does it well. I would surely recommend it for a reading list.
Still, you may not have a list; you may just read whatever is next, improvise your path. As seen in this book, that does tend to work. Well, at least half the time.
June 2, 2025
This book series is one of my favorites!!! ♥️
One reason is that I can read about historical events and I don’t feel like I need a break from it!
I really hope the author never stops writing these!!!
Totally recommend reading this to everyone!!! 🌟
One reason is that I can read about historical events and I don’t feel like I need a break from it!
I really hope the author never stops writing these!!!
Totally recommend reading this to everyone!!! 🌟
December 18, 2020
One of the best!
October 6, 2022
I liked it. It isn't my favorite of his but he still did a good job.
May 12, 2023
Nathan Hale is absolutely amazing. His storytelling and artwork meld beautifully to become something better than the two separately. I learned so much about the Doolittle Raid. So much more than I ever did in high school, that’s for sure. These graphic novels can be gruesome but they’re so well done.
October 5, 2021
Another enjoyable, educational, quick read.
September 3, 2018
I dig this series, but this was probably the weakest in the series. Narrative was all over the place and there was zero characterization.
August 19, 2018
Graphic novel about Doolittle's raid on Japan.
April 30, 2018
Nathan Hale and his fellow narrating sidekicks are back for another hazardous tale from history. This time Nathan Hale tells them about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and one of the responses, the first American raid to bomb Japan.
Not my favorite Nathan Hale Hazardous Tale, but that doesn't mean it was bad. I just love the ones that make me laugh more. WWII is just a very serious topic, especially when the focus is a raid that seemed doomed to end in the death of the participants, and thus this is a little more serious than some of the other Hazardous Tales. Hale does an amazingly detailed job of relating the history (he lists names of ALL the naval vessels in the major raids on BOTH sides...I can't imagine how much research digging that took). He also tells the story from both the Japanese side and American side for the Attack on Pearl Harbor. (Which I appreciate as I work at a school with both Japanese and American students.) And then he tells how the mission played out for each of the 16 planes involved in the raid on Japan. A fantastic retelling of history, and he helps readers get a picture of just how huge and tragic WWII was. Recommended for classes studying WWII.
Notes on content: No swearing that I remember. No sexual content. Lots of war violence, soldiers killed in some raids are named and their photo taken before the raid is illustrated. Some injuries are depicted on page, but Hale keeps the gore to a minimum. He also mercifully doesn't relate what soldiers put through torture endured. He just says they had a horrible experience.
Not my favorite Nathan Hale Hazardous Tale, but that doesn't mean it was bad. I just love the ones that make me laugh more. WWII is just a very serious topic, especially when the focus is a raid that seemed doomed to end in the death of the participants, and thus this is a little more serious than some of the other Hazardous Tales. Hale does an amazingly detailed job of relating the history (he lists names of ALL the naval vessels in the major raids on BOTH sides...I can't imagine how much research digging that took). He also tells the story from both the Japanese side and American side for the Attack on Pearl Harbor. (Which I appreciate as I work at a school with both Japanese and American students.) And then he tells how the mission played out for each of the 16 planes involved in the raid on Japan. A fantastic retelling of history, and he helps readers get a picture of just how huge and tragic WWII was. Recommended for classes studying WWII.
Notes on content: No swearing that I remember. No sexual content. Lots of war violence, soldiers killed in some raids are named and their photo taken before the raid is illustrated. Some injuries are depicted on page, but Hale keeps the gore to a minimum. He also mercifully doesn't relate what soldiers put through torture endured. He just says they had a horrible experience.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 234 reviews