• Age: 3 to 6
• Grade: p to 1

A girl in India discovers an ancient step well in this companion book to the creators’ much-loved Out of the Way! Out of the Way!

When a girl discovers a slab of stone on a weedy patch of land, she calls to her friends, “Look! Look!” The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find more stones. They call their families to come and see and begin to dig around the stones. Word travels to villages nearby, and more and more people join in, until the digging reveals steps that lead down to an ancient well. At the bottom, there’s even a little water! When the rains come, they cause an underground spring to flow once again, filling the ancient well with fresh, clean water and greening the surrounding fields.

Lyrical writing and lively, richly colored art come together once again in this compelling story that embraces community, nature and the passage of time. Includes an author’s note about ancient step wells and their potential to help handle floods and provide water.

Key Text Features

illustrations

author’s note

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6

With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Uma Krishnaswami's inspiration for this book came from her memory of planting a mango seed as a child and seeing it grow into a tree, and also from a news story about people who planted trees in potholes. She has written many children's books, from picture books to middle grade readers to retellings of classic tales and myths, including Bringing Asha Home (CCBC Choices), The Happiest Tree (Paterson Prize finalist, CCBC Choices, Bank Street College Best Books), Naming Maya (IRA Notable Books for a Global Society) and Chachaji's Cup (Paterson Prize for Books for Young People, Bank Street College Best Books). Her latest middle grade novel, The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, published by Atheneum, received starred reviews in Kirkus and School Library Journal. She teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is an active blogger. Uma was born in New Delhi, India, and now lives in Aztec, New Mexico.

Uma Krishnaswami's profile page

Uma Krishnaswamy divides her time between illustrating picture books and teaching art to young adults. She has illustrated many books, including A Dollop of Ghee and A Pot of Wisdom, Dancing on Walls and The Boastful Centipede and Other Creatures in Verse. She enjoys mixing styles of art from all over the world, but her main inspiration comes from the rich art and craft tradition of India. Her illustrations in Out of the Way! Out of the Way! are a blend of different folk styles. "I think the end result is a happy mix of black and white and colour, which reflects the beauty, chaos and confusion that is India," Uma says. She lives in Chennai, India.

Uma Krishnaswamy's profile page

This book transcends borders with its universal theme that celebrates the power of community and rejuvenation of the environment.

Quill & Quire

Krishnaswami’s spare, lyrical text is complemented by Krishnaswamy’s bright, decorative palette. STARRED REVIEW

BookPage

A gorgeous and inspiring imagining of a collective response to climate change. STARRED REVIEW

Kirkus

Accompanying the lively prose, Krishnaswami's refrain—'Look! Look!'—captures the joy of discovery that unites the community.

Horn Book