Puff...Flash...Bang!: A Book About Signals

by Gail Gibbons

Snappy graphics and a clear text help explain how messages are communicated without words, looking at the history of signs and signals and the kinds of signals used today.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

From gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.

Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pulling books at my library's bookstore and came across this. It was going to be discarded so I decided to take it home. It seemed interesting and informative. What sold me on it was the Native American smoke signals, because anything to do with Native American culture interests me. 

It shows you all of the different sights and sounds that we recognize on a daily basis, the things we understand to mean certain things, and then act accordingly. 

There are things we see, like stoplights, lighthouses, railroad crossings.
We hear police sirens, bells, car horns.

I loved the parts about ancient times. The Romans would use beacon fires to signal ships of different things. One fire was shown on the edge of the cliff which meant dangerous cliffs were near. Another fire was set further inland on the flatlands and meant that enemy troops were coming. 

Tribesmen beat on drums to signal there was going to be a feast. I wish I knew where in the world they did that, but it didn't say.

Vikings blew on horns to warn the people on shore they were going to raid them. 

Native Americans used blankets over a damp, smoking fire to send up smoke as signals. One puff meant that the harvest was about to start. Different signals had different numbers of puffs. Other tribes used whole columns of smoke instead. One straight stream meant "pay attention," 2 meant "all is well," and 3 meant danger.

Soldiers in the American Revolution used canons to signal that troops were to advance. They would be set miles apart, and one would be fired to signal to the next and they would fire off to the next.
I was thrilled at the mention of Paul Revere. He made such a cute figure on his horse. I had forgotten about the person signaling him in the church belfry, so that was refreshing. But I had heard "one if by land and two if by sea" so Idk how I forgot that. A friend was going to light one lantern if the British were coming by land and two if they came by sea, and two lanterns were lit, and that's when Paul Revere who waited below began his ride, yelling "The British are coming."

I felt like an idiot, but I didn't know that cars have a signal for reverse. It's the middle light out of the 3. 

Ships follow light signals, where the flashing lights mean different things. Lighthouses all have their own signal. 

Flares are placed at the roadside where a car breaks down. Sailors send up flares to signal they need help.

People like hikers use mirrors to create a reflection of the sun and signal their location. 

Boy Scouts hold flags in a certain position to indicate a certain letter. Using two flags is called semaphore signaling. One flag is wigwagging.

Native Americans used sign language when they didn't speak the same language. 

There was some outdated information, like the rotary type phones with the dial. And theater lobby having a chime when the "concert" is about to start. Houses have a burglar alarm that goes off and signals the police. That's definitely obsolete information. 

Bells on the harbor ring to guide ships back into harbor. 
Castles have people who play horns to show guests have arrived. 
Guns signal races have started. 

Morse Code is a sound system that was used on electronic telegraphs. It sent dots and dashes, or short and long sounds, to make letters. SOS is the international distress signal. 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots. 

Lights on the sides of boats tell others which direction the boat is going.

It was jarring to flip the page and see "Goodbye!" with two kids waving. But it did keep with the theme of signals, because their hands waving was a signal in itself. The last line said these are signals that tell us what we want to know. 

I wish there had been so much more. They used cars and trains multiple times. I would have liked for more of a variety. Also, it would be nice if another edition could be made now and they could cut out the signals that are no longer used. 

I think kids would really enjoy this. The artwork is cute and the illustrations are interactive, with readers being able to read off the sound that each signal makes. Like "toot" and "beep." I imagined kids would have a good time sounding out the noises that the objects make and they would learn so much from this.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Gail Gibbons. A go-to book for informational text on communications for elementary age students.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great as it details all the different types of signals. It covers a wide range of signals that are relatable to most students.