THE PRINTER

Uhlberg pays tribute to his father, a hearing child of deaf parents, with this semi-autobiographical tale of a deaf-mute worker in a roaring newspaper printing plant, who spots a fire and finds a way to spread the alarm. Thanks to his heroic efforts, everyone is saved, and after the devastated plant reopens, his previously standoffish hearing co-workers express their gratitude with both a folded paper printer’s cap, and by signing “thank you.” Sørensen sets the episode in 1940s New York, using sober colors, depicting figures in a realistic style against looming, shadowy presses, and capturing action with sequences of inset panels. Instructions for folding a printer’s hat and for making the American Sign Language signs for “fire” and “thank you” close another heartfelt tale of an ordinary person rising to meet an extraordinary challenge. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)