Sign Off

Readers are probably familiar with stories about toys coming to life when night falls. In this wordless picture book, Savage (The Babysitter from Another Planet) imagines that the same is true for symbol signs, those bright orange and yellow street signs that feature black silhouetted figures. As the moon rises in the sky--the settings, bathed in lovely muted nighttime shades, are as stylized as the protagonists--the symbol characters leap off their respective signs and indulge in a little free play (a deer nibbles at low-hanging leaves; a construction worker builds a sand castle). Then all the symbols gather at the top of a hill, take the yellow circle down from the traffic light sign, and with a little collaborative engineering, launch it into the sky to bring on another day. Savage's aesthetic and mastery of color are tailor-made for this inventive story, imbuing everyday objects with a vivid sense of character and narrative. Readers won't be able to see signage the same way again. Ages up to 8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (May)

PreS-Gr 2—The term "sign off" means ending a radio conversation, among other things. In this case, the title is taken quite literally and in the most imaginative way. It is not enough for Savage to depict everyday signs, ones that children will instantly recognize, but he conjures up a story where the characters come off of each of the signs. What do they do when they leap off the signs? And why? This is essentially a wordless picture book, apart from the lettering on the signs, so even the youngest of children can participate by drawing on what they know about signs. The story takes place over the course of a night and the inky colors and the night sky signal that to readers. All of the iconic sign characters come together at the end for a very specific purpose, having to do with the transition to dawn. This is brilliantly illustrated throughout and includes endpapers that let the children know that the story begins at night, but as the sky lightens and the characters finish their work, the last endpaper features the sunrise. The geometric shapes and lack of words might suggest this title is for the littlest of children (and it is) but the story and all the clues it contains makes it a winner for the higher end of this range. VERDICT This is a must-buy for any elementary or juvenile collections.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA