Across the white space of the pages, a greyhound in a natty striped orange sweater walks across a bare field to approach a single tree with a mysterious rustle. A small dog, with perky ears, smushed nose, and a blue tie, walks up and asks "What do you see?" and the first dog replies, "A turtle in a tree."
And that's where all the trouble starts. With variations on these sentences, the two get more and more argumentative, while grey-green leaves flutter down from the tree and a few small, big-eyed black birds hop onto the scene. They argue, they explain, they grumble, and finally they yell... and then the whole discussion is resolved. Who was right? Was it a turtle or a squirrel? Is it possible they both could be right?
The soft, pastel illustrations let the dogs' color-coded argument in speech bubbles take center stage and it will remind readers of similar books on perspective, like the classic Duck! Rabbit! or You are small (No I am not). The pale illustrations make this less than ideal for storytime, especially since so much of the story is expressed through dialogue, but older readers and listeners who have a quirky sense of humor will enjoy this silly story with a, possible, moral.
Verdict: While it's inevitable that adults will apply this to the many disagreements and arguments going on in the world today, ultimately it's really just a silly story about being willing to be wrong - and seeing the whole picture. Purchase where there are fans of Klassen or Barnett's similar, subtle humor.
ISBN: 9780593323311; Published June 2021 by Dial Books for Young Readers; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library
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