Review by Booklist Review
Signs at the side of the road are there simply to inform drivers and that's all they do. Or is it? Savage's clever, (mostly) wordless picture book divulges what goes on at night when the images on the road signs are free to come and go as they please. The stag on the Deer Crossing warning gently nibbles the leaves on the branch overhead before leaping off his bright yellow diamond-shaped sign. The driver and vehicle on the Tractor Crossing indicator plow through a field on the way to meet up with other sign images to set the events in motion. Characters from seven signs including a Men at Work, Slow Children at Play, and the symbol that indicates a playground take part in the night's activities. A number of graphic designers created the figures used in this picture book. Savage's signature illustrations, with their crisp, clean outlines, are spare and striking, and they clearly reveal the shenanigans that take place after dark. Subdued blue, green, brown, purple, and rose convey the nighttime hours, though the illustrations are still bright enough that the actions can be easily followed. This imaginative concept will fascinate youngsters while making them more aware of the signs around them.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
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 depicteveryday 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 © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this wordless picture book, figures on road signs come to life and magically interact with the nighttime world around them. As the crescent moon glows above the rural setting, a deer reaches out of its yellow deer crossing sign to nibble leaves from a nearby tree. Then the image of a tractor detaches from its sign altogether and begins to plow a field. A figure of a wheelchair user leaves its sign and rolls along the hood of a parked car. More signs, figures, and curious activities appear with each page-turn. After swinging on a swing set, the shape of a person from a SLOW: Children at Play sign interacts with the other signage characters. Excitement builds as all the figures unite and collaborate to remove the yellow circle from a stoplight sign. Using a seesaw taken from a playground sign, the characters slingshot the yellow circle into the sky, where it becomes the sun. The lively silhouettes celebrate together before returning to their static daytime places. Cool colors dominate much of the book, allowing the true-to-life sign imagery, with the signs black silhouettes and bright yellow and orange backgrounds, to stand out. elisa gall July/Aug p.117(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Characters from familiar road signs come to life at night and get up to a bit of mischief in this nearly wordless book. The leaping deer reaches up to sample the leaves from a tree; the farmer and tractor get busy plowing in the cornfield; the person who uses a wheelchair wheels away; the road-crew worker creates a sand castle with their shovel; the school child in trousers woos the one in a skirt with a flower; the running "[child] at play" goes for a swing; the two children on the seesaw pull down the toy and join the others in a quaint procession as they march up a hill together. The group removes the yellow circle from a traffic-signal sign and use the seesaw to fling it into the sky, where it becomesthe rising sun. They celebrate and then disperse. As a school bus approaches at the end, the deer is back in its place on the sign, leaving readers to infer the others are on their signs as well. The stark, computer-drawn landscapes are clearly intended to coordinate with the black silhouettes of the road-sign figures; however once readers get the premise, there is not much else to engage their attention, since the vast majority of this unusually long book is occupied by buildup. This book is heavy on concept and light on execution, and readers may be yawning before the end. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
