Selected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List
A young boy spots a baby tree growing in the middle of a dusty path in his village. He carefully places rocks around it as the local mango seller rushes past shouting, "Out of the way! Out of the way!" As the tree grows bigger, people and animals traverse the path until it becomes a lane, flowing like a river around the tree-- getting out of its way. Over time, the lane becomes a road, and a young man crossing the road with his children remembers the baby tree from long ago. By the time he is an old man, the tree has become a giant. The city traffic continues to rattle past, noisier and busier than ever, but sometimes the great tree works its magic, and people just stop, and listen.
In this simple, lyrical story, a wide-spreading tree and a busy road grow simultaneously, even as time passes and the footsteps of people and animals give way to speeding cars, buses and trucks. The illustrations, in pen-and-ink with vibrant blocks of color, have a classic folk-art feel.
The author and illustrator, who really do share the same name (except for the last letter!), have always wanted to do a book together.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.2
With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
About the Author: 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. Krishnaswami was born in New Delhi, India, and now lives in Aztec, New Mexico. 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," Krishnaswamy says. She lives in Chennai, India.
