Duck! Rabbit! : 6 Important Questions to Ask Kids

This is one of my favorite picture books, but gracious ... right now it sort of reminds me of my news feed on Facebook.

"Duck!" 

"Rabbit!" 

"No, it's a duck!" 

"No, it's a rabbit!" 

🦆!  🐇!  🦆!  🐇!  🦆!  🐇!     

Insert different names and it sounds like a political debate. 

But that's exactly what I love about this book. In a really age-appropriate way, the book's creators use an ambiguous illustration to polarize the two narrators. One believes the image shows a duck and the other believes it's a rabbit. For several pages, the narrators passionately express their different points of view and try to defend their opinions in hopes of persuading the other one to change their mind. 

(Um, this pretty much sounds like adult-real-life right now.)

Except there's an unexpected twist. The narrators end up considering the possibility that the other one may be right ... that their own opinion might in fact be changed ... that the other one made some legitimately compelling points. Whoa. 

And the best part? 

They're.  Still.  Friends. 

I realize I'm bringing my own experiences to this (and maybe a little sarcasm), but I think that's what a good story does. I'm obviously making plenty of connections to the text. And kids will too.

I don't think it's ever too early to teach children how to be open-minded and accepting of other people's opinions. Understanding that individuals have unique points of view based on their own personal experiences leads to empathy. And being open to truly listening to others is integral to building healthy, compassionate communities who will thrive together. 

Read the book and then get the conversation started with questions like:

• Why do you think Amy & Tom created this book? Do you think there's a message or lesson to be learned?

• How can two people be in the same place seeing the same things yet have different ideas about what's going on?

• Why do you think it's hard sometimes for people to change their minds?

• Is it ok if you don't want to change your opinion about something? How can you do that in a polite way that shows respect for the other person? 

• Why is it important to be open-minded?

• How might this story have ended if the two narrators had never considered the other one's point of view?  

If you're looking for more ideas about how other primary teachers are dealing with community-building topics in their classrooms, check out these blog posts:

👉 Talking with First Graders About Privilege and Power 

👉 Talking About Inclusion & Hope with Young Children

Happy teaching! 

(But for the record, it's a duck.😉)