A boy rolls into town, hoping to work as a landscape painter. He has to make a living, though, so he hooks up with a billboard painter instead. The two of them set out across the desert, painting billboard after billboard according the strict specifications of the man who hired them. As they paint, the boy tries to guess what the esoteric messages on the billboards will lead to, but he never would have guessed what he and his fellow painter would find at the end of the trail.
I expected to like this one more because of the author/illustrator, but the story was pretty depressing and ultimately felt pointless, and much of the meaning is likely to go over students' heads without a lot of adult guidance. It's fairly text-heavy, as well, which makes it a much longer read. It may work well for an art class, however, as many of the illustrations allude to paintings by such greats as Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keefe.
EL -- OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Caryn
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