If you’ve been paying attention to films aimed at children during the last decade or so, you’ll know the kid-as-secret-agent genre is popular, as evidenced by such movies as Spy Kids and Agent Cody Banks. But while Hollywood seems to believe that the technology-and-gadgets angle is the way to impress young espionage fanatics, Toronto writer Helaine Becker (Are You Psychic? and Boredom Busters) has taken a different approach.

Sure, there’s lots of information in Secret Agent Y.O.U. (the acronym stands for Young Operative Undercover) about code-cracking machines, surveillance planes, and devices that test the steadiness of hand needed to lift a radioactive diamond from a sensitive, alarm-rigged device. But Becker’s new book about the art and science of spying contains much more.

Helped along by the lively illustrations of Dave Whamond, the text details the history of spying, including U.S. President Thomas Jefferson’s invention of one of the earliest code-cracking machines, and how one of the top spies in the French resistance during the Second World War was an interior decorator by trade (which enabled him to figure out the best places to hide top-secret maps). Also included are the physical and mental attributes needed by top spies (including exercises young spies-in-training can do to improve concentration and muscle control, and a test to determine just what type of spying you’re cut out for), and a host of valuable information about the inner life of a spy.

Secret Agent Y.O.U. will be a hit with any young reader interested in getting to the heart of spying, or just about anyone interested in an in-depth, factual look at this popular subject.