Books with Deaf Characters Post 9 - The Printer
The Printer is by Myron Uhlberg. Remember him? Illustrated by Henri Sorensen. Like the other picturebook by Uhlberg that I read, this is based in fact, but is a work of fiction.
It's about the narrator's father, who's a deaf printer at a newspaper in the 1940's. Some of his coworkers are deaf and some are hearing. So when a fire breaks out, he warns the deaf people first (in the loud printing room, even if he did shout something understandable to his hearing coworkers, they'd be unlikely to hear it). "Fire! Fire! Tell the hearing ones!" They make sure everyone gets out and the father in the story is the last one to leave. It's a huge fire, given all the paper that's hanging around waiting to be fuel for it. But no one is hurt and the building's rebuilt and he gets to go back to work on the new machines.
At the end of the book, Uhlberg tells us some facts about his deaf father and how he grew up, and about working on the printing press of The New York Daily News. There's also a blurb about ASL. And at the very back is directions to make your own printer's hat out of newspaper.
What I didn't understand in this and in his memoir is.. if they needed a newspaper hat to protect their hair from the fine mist of paper dust and ink.. what the heck were they inhaling?!
Deaf Character: White man in his 30s, 40s. In this book, it says he can't speak. Uses ASL.
Relationship to main character: Well, he really is the main character, but the narrator is his hearing son.
Genre of Book: Historical (of course)
Reading Level of Book: Picturebook