Duel
Written and Illustrated by By Shawn Harris
★"[W]hat might at first appear to be a simple fairy-tale premise takes on entirely new life when rendered in duplicate. Thick tempera and acrylic paints show every illustration with its mirror image on the opposite page. 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. Lest one become overly fixated on the unusual formatting of the art, however, Harris’ text is equally slick: “We’ll have a duel—the 1 who wins will rule the hill in whole. Deal?” He also ratchets up the read-aloud tension as the duelists grow closer and closer to each other on their steeds, everything exploding in a deeply satisfying “CLASH! CLANG! BANG! THUD.” Best of all, the winner solves everything with an immensely clever solution. . . . Delights in duplicate; expect this title to double everyone’s pleasure at the next storytime." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review