Duel

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?

Author: Shawn Harris
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 40
Weight: 0.25lbs
Size: 6.86h x 10.80w x 0.33d
ISBN: 9780823458738
Language: English