Out the Door

Intricate, textural cut-paper collage distinguishes this directional tale, which follows a brown-skinned child sporting a red jacket through a weekday commute via the New York subway—from a Brooklyn brownstone to school and back. In concise prose that emphasizes directional words, a child and adult head “down the stoop” and “beyond the turnstile” to wait for a train. Hale’s art presents cityscapes from fluctuating perspectives, populated with a diverse cast of pedestrians, passengers, and classmates. Just right for completists and transit enthusiasts, the penultimate pages offer a paneled spread of the routine in reverse as the child accompanies a caretaker home. A charming, detailed primer for easing children into new routines and spatial phrases. Ages 3–6. [em](Oct.) [/em]