I wonder if The Sign Painter by Allen Say contrasts times in
his own life. This is the story of an older gentleman who paints for pay. We
meet him by way of a young adult at the beginning of his artistic career. This
young man drops into a small town in search of employment and spends about
a month painting the same billboard
repeatedly as the sign painter’s assistant. The cover art for this book may
summarize the story: the boy looks at the blank canvas of his future while the
elder looks down at the design he’s paid to put there. This book demands
readers read between the lines. There
are few “correct” answers in this lesson. Most questions require readers share
their own interpretations of the story. The vocabulary is not difficult, but
the content is for the older reader.
My Picture Book Talk lesson for this story is here.
