The Sign Painter

Early one morning a boy comes into town looking for work. He meets a sign painter who takes him on as a helper, and they are commissioned to paint a series of billboards in the desert. Each billboard has only one word, Arrowstar. They do not know its meaning. As they are about to paint the last sign, the boy looks up and sees in the distance a magnificent structure. Is it real? Together, they go to find out.

Here Allen Say tells a haunting story of dreams and choices for readers of all ages. It is a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Read-Aloud Story).