Duel

by Shawn Harris

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 what might you create, if you set yourself a challenge?

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 6, 2026

About the author

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Reviews

[Patricia Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

The squish paint illustrations were very inventive.

[Cas · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

The art in this book is so inventive (pretty sure it's finger painted?? then flipped over and squished onto the other side of the paper so the same painting shows up reflected across from the original), and the ending is so cute. Minus half a star, though, because I fear that what this book is depicting is not a duel, but a joust, and I love to be pedantic.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork is done by taking a painting and either folding it in half to create a duplicate of it on the other side, or painting something and then laying another piece of paper on top of it to create a mirror image of it. So each page layout in the book is the same painting, with mirror images. It's also a fun read that goes with the pictures, about 2 queens who call a duel to figure out which one will rule the hill they live on. A shorter book for a ST about kings, castles or horses.

[John Mullarkey · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

The artwork is very inventive - squish art - where a painting is duplicated on one half of a page by folding it. It sounds simple, but I am sure that it can be tricky. The story is brief and has a positive ending - a duel by two knights picked by two queens to determine who will take ownership of a hill. The story can create conversation among listeners the artwork can as well - both in an art class, of course but also in a regular classroom.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
This author/illustrator has provided readers with another creative story- told entirely with symmetrical spreads of painted artwork. As the action builds, it is going to be so much fun to read aloud with groups of students!

[Diana · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

When I was little I loved to do this kind of paintings, I really loved unsticking the paper to see the result.
The illustrations in this book are 90% of the reason I gave this book the rating, but also the story is cute and simple and with a message of unity.

[Josh Campeau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique illustration style to tell a fun story with a good message at the end that takes advantage of the art style. A good read-aloud for ages 2 1/2 and up, but the book is a bit smaller than your average picture book so it may be better one-on-one.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever. The use of symmetrical printing makes this a great book to use for a story time craft or art lesson.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & quick, will make a great readaloud in my house.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harris takes storytelling to a creative new level with Duel, a medieval tale shown entirely with symmetrical illustrations! How fun!

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

The real star of this book is the squish paintings - so unique!

[kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

one tin soldier if it they were both on the hill

[AJ Easterday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the way this was illustrated! So unique!

[Alex · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I LOVE the concept of this book and it's brilliant art. It's visually captivating and includes such a simple message.

[Suzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful read-aloud story with such fun and unique artwork. I think it’s a good one to inspire children, and adults, to get out their paints and get creative.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

like the concept, don't like the squished paint illustrations, looks like barf to me

[Alyssa Mandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a cool book! The art was created by pressing two pages together to create mirror images on each sized.