Awards

• Short-listed for Charlotte Award (Intermediate) 2006
• Short-listed for Land of Enchantment Book Award (Children's) 2006
• Winner of Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year 2005
• Winner of CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers 2004

Overview

As a boy, my father learned to speak with his hands. As a man, he learned how to turn lead-type letters into words and sentences. My father loved being a printer. Each day in 1940s New York a young boy watches as his father goes to work in the noisy newspaper printing factory. But the boy's father only feels the machines' loud pounding and rumbling as vibrations through the soles of his shoes. He is deaf. Although his father communicates with a few other deaf printers through his hands, he feels largely ignored by his hearing co-workers. But when a silent deadly fire erupts, it is up to the father to warn and save his coworkers, even when they cannot hear him over the printers. Myron Uhlberg draws on his own experiences as the hearing son of deaf parents to create this dramatic, evocative story that reflects a respect for deaf culture and the unique gifts each individual possesses. Historical details are deftly rendered and brought to life in Henri S rensen's extraordinary paintings that dramatize and illuminate the powerful text.

Full Product Details

9781561452217

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Reviews

Uhlberg's drily understated humor maximizes the comedy as well as readers' affection for the hapless hero and his doltish scheme.

A heartfelt tale of an ordinary person rising to meet an extraordinary challenge. A unique tale of a quiet kind of heroism-literally and figuratively... The simplicity of the story gives the text its drama, and its message of caring for one's fellow humans is powerful. Handsome paintings convey the story's emotion. The large, realistic paintings are enthralling, showing close up both the strong men at work with the pounding machinery and the boy's bond with his brave, gentle father.

Author Information

Myron Uhlberg is the award-wining and critically acclaimed author of several children's books. Uhlberg is the first-born son of two deaf parents. His first language was ASL (American Sign Language). After graduating from Brandeis University, he served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He then spent the next forty years in the garment industry. His first book was published when he was sixty-six years old. He has appeared on NPR's Talk of the Nation and was featured in the Ken Burns documentary film, Jackie Robinson. He lives in California. Henri S rensen attended the University of Arhus and the Academy of Fine Arts, both in Denmark. He has illustrated over twenty books for children and is the author-illustrator of two others. S rensen lives in Denmark.

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