I really enjoyed this book! Firstly, because this was a fast-paced rhythmic book. It is a quick and fun read. I also liked this books because of the simple, but colorful illustrations. The orange, red, and green really made me think of India. Lastly, I enjoyed this book because the quick passage of time kept me hooked on the plot and had me wondering what would happen next. This story was about the hustle and bustle of the streets in India and the advancements that changed the dirt roads of villages into paved city streets.

I like this book for two main reasons. First, I liked “Out of the Way! Out of the Way!” because of the way it is written on the page. Most of the words are written out of the way of what is occurring on the page or out of the way of the characters. One of the sets of words follows its actions:
A dusty path ran through a village.
People and animals
walked up and down,
going from here to there
and back again.
The people and animals on the streets are going back and forth, and so does the paragraph on the page. Much of the writing is also written in a way that looks like yelling, even if someone isn’t actually reading the context of the text.
I also love this book for its artwork. The people who speak in the book are busy and in a rush, and all of the illustrations are busy, just like the characters. On one page alone, a woman tends to her garden, two bulls are running, a girl has cotton candy, a woman is doing laundry, a boy is playing ball, and much more. Not all of the illustrations are in color, and this may be used to show importance of some characters over others. One thing that I did notice about what is colored and what is not is that the tree is always in color. In the beginning of the story, a young boy plants some seeds, and it soon begins to sprout in the middle of the busy developing town/city. As the city develops more and people are constantly told to get out of the way of the development, the tree continues to grow. Eventually, the tree is big enough that the people, animals, and vehicles are all getting out of the way of the tree. This is the perfect detail to promote the idea that nature is needed on earth and is greater than all that humans can develop. ( )

At first this book did not make much sense to me when it started with the tree; the people around the tree were always yelling at others to get out of the way. As I got deeper into the book I started to realize that because the tree was planted, more people and traffic were surrounding the tree. Once I understood that, I really enjoyed this book because of the message it was trying to tell. Interpretations can be different, and I could see multiple messages. If you plant a tree, people will come. Even with all the traffic, people still stopped to tell stories about the tree. The illustrations could seem overwhelming to people because the amount of color, and there are no lines, just color. I thought that the illustrations were a good combination of simple and colorful which enhanced the business of the town. I think the illustrations could have fit the written text more if they were simple in the beginning when the tree was getting planted and became more colorful as the town got more crowded. ( )

I really didn’t enjoy this book. I was not a fan at all. I though that the illustrations were very jumbled and I found them to be overwhelming on each page. I did however, like the vibrant colors the illustrator used! I really didn’t see the purpose of the book honestly. I really felt that the book lacked a story line or a message. I really didn’t get the message or big idea at all. After reading it I was more confused than anything else. One aspect that I did like was that the actual words “out of the way” were on each page and they mimic the movement of people trying to go around the tree. I think that this book would be considered a contemporary realistic fiction book. Overall I really didn't enjoy this book and I would not recommend it to others. ( )

There are two reasons I enjoyed this picture book. First, the illustrations are jumbled as if a child had drawn them, which adds to the idea of the jumbled environment when avoiding the newly growing tree. Second, the words “out of the way” dance across the page to mimic the movement of people avoiding the tree. Out of the Way! Out of the Way is about a young boy who finds a new tree sprout growing in the middle of a busy roadway. The young boy takes care of the tree and yells “out of the way” each time someone tries to run the tree over. Eventually the tree grows to be very tall. The roadway changes to go around the tree due to its growth and the boys help. The tree becomes a meeting point and a relaxation spot for the community. The big idea would be to preserve nature and care for it. ( )