Pistes d'exploration

Discuss how the illustrations can be seen in the two different ways.

Script a conversation between a rabbit and a duck. Establish the circumstances for this chat.

Write the story of what happens to the anteater/brachiosaurus.

Using teacher-selected resources, examine images that have two perspectives and share what you see with others.

Two groups can take turns reading the dialogue as the teacher reads aloud.

Make a class poster with pictures of animals. Identify their body parts (e.g. beak, tail, paws). Use resources to find new words.

Make your own picture book page with anteater/brachiosaurus or two other animals.

Exclamation Mark, The Day the Crayons Quit, A Long Way Away: A Two-Way Story, Me First!

Mots-clés

Humour , Picture book , debates , dialogue , optical illusions , perceptions , point of view

Commentaire descriptif

Two off-page characters banter back and forth about whether they are looking at a duck or a rabbit in this playful tale based on a familiar optical illusion. The simple, engaging text makes it suitable for either read-aloud or independent reading: “That's not a duck. That's a rabbit!” argues one character. “Are you kidding me? It's totally a duck.” The story goes on, with both presenting such compelling arguments that they end up switching opinions by the end. However clever the dialogue, it's the watercolour and ink illustrations that carry the story. Uncluttered and deceptively simple, they rely on strong, bold lines to help children readily identify the animal as one or the other. Depending on how they interpret the visual cues from one drawing to the next, sometimes they might see a duck; other times, a rabbit. The book ends with a new ambiguous figure—either an anteater or a brachiosaurus—and a new debate, reiterating the idea that things aren't always what they seem.