{"product_id":"the-duel-isbn-9781644214022","title":"The Duel","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLoosely based on the duel scene from \u003ci\u003eWar \u0026amp; Peace\u003c\/i\u003e, this story will help spark conversations about what can happen when you turn away from violence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1, 2, 3, 4 . . . There they go, walking away. So many steps separating them. 5, 6, 7, 8. . . . \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Duel \u003c\/i\u003ewill 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.\"\"When two friends at odds in a wintry place stand back to back and embark on their paces, one keeps walking, into the warm colorful, collegial spring of Oliveira's \u003cb\u003edazzling picture book debut\u003c\/b\u003e.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"It's a picture book, but in a way it could also be for us, or even for our world leaders who . . . don't seem to know how to pursue peace.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003eDeepa Fernandes, \"Here \u0026amp; Now,\"\u003c\/b\u003e from an interview with the author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Duel\u003c\/i\u003e is a poignant tale about a duel that never takes place. The main character marches through watercolor illustrations that gradually materialize into bustling city scenes which subsequently transform into peaceful countryside landscapes. Eventually, he settles alone in a sunny meadow where white birds fly across a hopeful blue sky.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003c\/i\u003ePEN America\u003c\/b\u003e, from and interview with the author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This Portuguese import contemplates war and peace by upending a planned duel.\u003cbr\u003eTwo men decide to settle their disagreements by dueling. In a barren landscape, each begins the 100-pace walk away from the other, weapon in hand. Yet one, who narrates, simply walks on. He ambles through increasingly vibrant vistas in a pulsing city, witnessing a parade, a circus, and a puppet show. Skin tones, where discernible in the tiny figures, appear pale. With each page turn, the errant duelist encounters fewer people and more animals. In increasingly bucolic scenes, he trades his pistol for a walking stick. Narration—its meaning at times elusive—takes the form of a letter written to his dueling partner, the “Esteemed Mr Rodin Rostov.” \u003cb\u003eOliveira’s Klee-esque illustrations are stunning.\u003c\/b\u003e Monochromatic early scenes metamorphose in successive palette shifts: saturated primary colors accented by neutrals for the cityscapes, then greens and ochers as the narrator treks through a village and a pasture. When he ponders his fate, constellations frame images of animals in an ink-blue sky. Over land and water, in fair weather and rain, he finally descends a mountain into a lush, flower-filled meadow. There, he pens his missive, posting it in his top hat. His note implores his friend to “put down your weapons and come on over \/ to see me, would you?” A migrating white bird takes up the envelope, even as the narrator himself seemingly metamorphoses, achieving unity with nature. \u003cb\u003eSubtly beautiful, with a message of peace\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003ci\u003e(Picture book. 4-7)\"\u003cb\u003e —Kirkus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“In this curious and memorable translated picture book (imported from Portugal), peace is explored through the narration of one duelist who, rather than turning to shoot, just keeps walking. The first image, small and black and white, is striking: two men, back to back, are so close together that they appear to be one figure, before they take their first step apart. As the unnamed narrator walks rightward, he then begins an internal monologue to the other duelist, Mr. Rostov. His contemplation quickly turns from the insults that sparked the challenge and on to philosophical musings about empathy, forgiveness, and the courage required to upend expectations and just choose peace in a world that rarely does. The use of color is spectacular as the man continues walking away, with stark grays replaced by vivid, saturated watercolor- like textures. The joy builds in the increasingly detailed images as page turns reveal a bright city, a tranquil countryside, and finally a mountain, where the man sits alone, surrounded by jewel-tone flowers, sending an invitation out into the world (via a letter carried away by a bird) for the other duelist to set down his gun, turn around, and choose a dramatically different future. There is significant subtlety in the illustrations and text, with vibes sometimes replacing clarity, but that is a comfortable space. Readers are unlikely to be stopped by any single (sometimes opaque) phrase, as the perpetual march to the right encourages steady progress through the book until the end, when the man stops at the edge of a panel, intentionally faces left, and waits patiently as he hopes to see Rostov. \u003cu\u003eThis book will resonate long after the final page—a glowing spark of peace in an increasingly dark world\u003c\/u\u003e.” \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e – The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e(University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eInês Viegas Oliveira\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Tavira, Portugal, in 1995. She studied physics and math, before changing course and studying illustration. In 2020, 2022, and 2023 her work was selected for the Illustrators Exhibition of the Bologna Children's Book Fair. After participating in the Every Story Matters European project that promotes inclusion through stories and books, she wrote and illustrated her first book, \u003ci\u003eThe Duel\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003eO Duelo\u003c\/i\u003e), published in Portugal in 2022 by Planeta Tangerina, which went on to win Portugal’s 2023 National Illustration Award. It was also selected for dPictus’s 100 Outstanding Picture Books and was featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair's 2023 BRAW Amazing Bookshelf.\\\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTranslator \u003cb\u003eRosa Churcher Clarke\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Manchester (UK), in 1989. She studied Portuguese and Spanish at the University of Oxford, going on  to do a Master’s and PhD in comparative literature. She has been based in Lisbon since 2012, and works as an editorial assistant at Portuguese publisher Planeta Tangerina alongside her activity as a freelance literary translator.","brand":"Triangle Square","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301030613221,"sku":"NP9781644214022","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781644214022.jpg?v=1767739095","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-duel-isbn-9781644214022","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}