Description: Caldecott Honoree Shawn Harris uses mirrored images to tell the story of two queens, two knights, and a duel over one shared hill in this astonishingly symmetrical picture book.
Two castles sit on a hill, home to two queens. But the queens would rather not share, and each sends a knight to joust for the land. Two queens is one too many for this hill, the queens concurred.Let's hold a duel. The one who wins will rule the hill in whole. There's just one problem--when the winner stands up in the middle of the field, no one is sure which side he came from. Maybe neighborly sharing is back in vogue! After all, they have so much in common. The illustrations in Duel follow one simple rule. Each pair of facing pages is perfectly symmetrical, mirrored over the gutter of the book. Even the colors are the result of squish painting, wet paint pressed between center-folded paper. Shawn Harris's self-imposed artistic dare has resulted in a visually arresting and effortlessly funny picture book that kids are sure to ask for on repeat. And to the bold, Duel whispers: what might you create, if you set yourself a challenge?
Review Quotes: The art often exhibits signs of the paints being pressed between sheets, Caldecott honoree Harris' bold colors and simple shapes popping from the pages. The author/illustrator also plays with the possibilities that lie within the gutter of a physical book. . . . Harris' text is equally slick. . . . He also ratchets up the read-aloud tension as the duelists grow closer and closer to each other on their steeds. . . . Delights in duplicate; expect this title to double everyone's pleasure at the next storytime.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
--Booklist (starred review) Bright endpapers highlighting a pair of butterfly wings fittingly encapsulate this clever picture book. . . . Colorful, blotchy art, created with tempera and acrylic paint, has a fairy-tale quality. . . . The unyielding structure of using only mirrored images works brilliantly to heighten the duel's visual tension. . . . Though the amusing crowd scene provides a break from the tension, the symmetry demonstrates that both knights are truly equal competitors. . . . The situation is resolved with lots of room for reader interpretation and re-readings to explore how the effective visual structure works in the story.
--The Horn Book (starred review) The pressure and exaggerated caricature style applied to thick acrylic paint make for an absolutely explosive mirror-image battle, which feels as dynamic and exciting as any real-life rennfaire joust. Scale and composition are deployed with magnificent precision to create page-turning tension. . . . Meanwhile, the text engages the reader with a playfulness that belies its stealthily delivered lessons on number recognition and phonics.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review) Caldecott Honoree Harris takes blot painting . . . to new heights in this inventive, Rorschach-reminiscent fable. . . . In support of the story's message about pointless division, every fold suggests that the two symmetrical sides were always one. The joyfully hands-on method behind this playful work of artistic discipline beckons readers to squish some paint of their own.
--Publishers Weekly The arresting mirror-image illustrations build tension and drama, while the text adds slightly tongue-in-cheek commentary to the proceedings. . . . Creative constraint and clever storytelling make this a unique and versatile addition to any school or public library collection.
--School Library Journal Symmetrical storytelling at its finest. . . . Harris . . . has a fine ear for readaloud picture books. . . . Beautiful. Inventive. Awesome.
--Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production Shawn Harris's books make me happy. DUEL is so fun, unique, and clever. I loved it!
--Colby Sharp, 5th Grade Teacher