The Duel

An international award-winning picture book with increasingly detailed water-color art begins as a story about quarrels and conflicts, but is, above all, about making and finding peace.

Loosely based on the duel scene from War & Peace, this story will help spark conversations about what can happen when you turn away from violence.

Two men argue in a distant and cold country. Words pierce and injure their hearts. In order to resolve the problem once and for all, they decide to fight a duel. They start back to back, each one counting a hundred paces before turning to shoot.

1, 2, 3, 4 . . . There they go, walking away. So many steps separating them. 5, 6, 7, 8. . . . 

One keeps walking, and walking, and walking some more, and his surroundings become more animated and vibrant, each page burgeoning with color and activity, circuses and marching bands. But what, he wonders, is the other one thinking? What lies ahead for them both? How far do you go before your anger dissipates and you crave the company of a friend? A story with a surprising turn of events, The Duel will help young readers see what can happen when you choose to turn away from violence and in the direction of curiosity and friendship and an open heart.