Out the Door

K-Gr 2–Using collage to great effect, Hale (Todos Iguales/ All Equal: Un Corrido de/ A Ballad of Lemon Grove) takes the readers on a prepositional journey through New York City as a young child who has brown skin and straight brown hair leaves home, journeys on foot and by subway, goes to school, and returns. The blend of illustrations and simple text provides a great teaching tool for prepositions, but this book is so much more. Celebrating family, community, and the joys of city life through the eyes of a child, the book succeeds on multiple levels. There are several breathtaking spreads of detailed and child-friendly collage (beginning with the spectacular cover) that students will pore over and connect to their own lives whether they live in a city or not. In this time of distance learning, this title could be used as a launching point for students to create their own “out the door” journeys in their community.