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.
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.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Apr 2, 2024 |
| Specifications | 32 pages | 7.875 in x 11 in |
| Keywords | Asian heritage and culture; traditional knowledge; civil engineering; ecosystems; environment and green issues; climate change; conservation; sustainability; environmental activism; how things work; activism; neighborhoods; problem solving; resourcefulness; self empowerment; |
| Written By |
UMA KRISHNASWAMI was born in India and now lives in Victoria, BC. Her Book Uncle trilogy includes the bestselling Book Uncle and Me, winner of the ILA Social Justice Literature Award, Birds on the Brain and The Sunshine Project. Her picture books include Look! Look! and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!, both illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy. She has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Uma is faculty emerita in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. |
| Illustrated by |
UMA KRISHNASWAMY divides her time between illustrating picture books and teaching art and design aesthetics to young adults. She has illustrated many books, including A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom by Chitra Soundar, Dancing on Walls by Shamim Padamsee and The Boastful Centipede and Other Creatures in Verse by Zai Whitaker. She enjoys mixing styles of art from all over the world, but her main inspiration comes from India’s rich arts and crafts tradition. She lives in Chennai, India. |
| Written By |
|
UMA KRISHNASWAMI was born in India and now lives in Victoria, BC. Her Book Uncle trilogy includes the bestselling Book Uncle and Me, winner of the ILA Social Justice Literature Award, Birds on the Brain and The Sunshine Project. Her picture books include Look! Look! and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!, both illustrated by Uma Krishnaswamy. She has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Uma is faculty emerita in the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. |
| Illustrated by |
|
UMA KRISHNASWAMY divides her time between illustrating picture books and teaching art and design aesthetics to young adults. She has illustrated many books, including A Dollop of Ghee and a Pot of Wisdom by Chitra Soundar, Dancing on Walls by Shamim Padamsee and The Boastful Centipede and Other Creatures in Verse by Zai Whitaker. She enjoys mixing styles of art from all over the world, but her main inspiration comes from India’s rich arts and crafts tradition. She lives in Chennai, India. |
| Audience | ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1 |
| Key Text Features | illustrations; author’s note |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 |
Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books of the Year, 2024
A gorgeous and inspiring imagining of a collective response to climate change. STARRED REVIEW
” —KirkusKrishnaswami’s spare, lyrical text is complemented by Krishnaswamy’s bright, decorative palette. STARRED REVIEW
” —BookPageAccompanying the lively prose, Krishnaswami's refrain—'Look! Look!'—captures the joy of discovery that unites the community.
” —Horn BookThis book transcends borders with its universal theme that celebrates the power of community and rejuvenation of the environment.
” —Quill & QuireUma Krishnaswami's lovely story about community brings the message of people working together to help solve the challenge of climate change, one village at a time.
” —CM: Canadian Review of Materials