We are so excited to have Sidura Ludwig join us today to share information about dual narrative picture books!
SIDURA LUDWIG writes fiction for children and adults. Her debut picture book, RISING (illustrated by Sofia Vincent Guy), is being published by Candlewick Press, May 2024. Her adult short story collection YOU ARE NOT WHAT WE EXPECTED (House of Anansi, 2020) won the Vine Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award. Sidura teaches and mentors in creative writing. She has also worked as a radio journalist and a communications specialist. Recently, she graduated with her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults through the Vermont College of Fine Arts in July 2021.
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, she now lives in Thornhill, Ontario, with her husband, three children and Havanese dog, Ella (who makes sure Sidura gets her butt in the writing chair every day. Well, most days…).
There are two sides to every story. Empathy happens when we take the time to really see both sides. In a picture book that uses dual narrative to tell a single story, the reader not only gets to see both sides, but may even sees both sides of themselves depicted on the page. Because emotions and relationships are never black and white.
Firstly, dual narrative does not have to mean two points-of-view. Most of the examples I’ll refer to are told in third person. However, these stories feature two narrative lines that cross somewhere, leaving us with a greater understanding of the individual stories. In other words (and pardon the further cliché), the story becomes greater than the sum of its two parts.
I love dual narratives in PBs especially stories about relationships. In SAM & EVA, written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Eva wants to draw with Sam, but Sam DOES NOT want to draw with Eva. Eva persists; Sam gets upset. And then the drawings take over and chaos unfolds. Sam and Eva need to find a solution together to fix a situation that’s gotten out of control. They do when Sam realizes they need to work together.
PEEP AND EGG, by Laura Gehl and Joyce Wan gives us a relationship where one friend is trying to encourage the other out of their comfort zone. Peep is a chick ready to see the world, and wants to do it all with Egg. But Egg is not ready to hatch. It’s only when Egg realizes they don’t want to be alone, and they don’t want to miss storytime, that they choose to hatch so they can be with their friend. Peep shows patience, Egg shows agency, and we see a relationship that works best when two friends find their common ground.
Dual narratives can also show role reversal. In A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE, by Philip C. Stead and Erin E. Stead, Amos is a zookeeper who always pays close attention and care to the animals he looks after. When he doesn’t come to work one day because he wakes up sick, the animals decide to come to him. Their actions mirror his from the first half of the book, and we see how kindness reflects and even multiplies.
In the classic BLUEBERRIES FOR SAL, a mother and daughter head out to pick blueberries for canning. Similarly, a mother bear and baby bear head out on the same hill to eat blueberries before hibernating. The narrative lines meet three-quarters of the way through the story when Sal’s adventure leads her to follow Mama Bear, and Little Bear to follow Mother. But in the end, the two narratives are reflections of each other, building connection for the young reader between human and animal behaviour.
Finally, I found a couple of interesting examples of dual narratives in non-fiction. In OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW, by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal, a father explains to a child that there is a whole world existing and hibernating under the snow. The back-and-forth narrative shows the child’s ski adventure and what she sees, while also imagining all the creatures and their adventures snug beneath the snow. Talk about a book that’s greater than the sum of its parts: here’s a lyrical non-fiction where the story lies somewhere between the “over and under” and in the child’s understanding of the natural workings of the world around her.
In MARTIN AND ANNE: THE KINDRED SPIRITS OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND ANNE FRANK, by Nancy Churnin and Yevgenia Nayberg, we learn about two great figures in history who never met, but were both born in 1929, faced racial hatred and reacted with words of love that have gone on to inspire generations of people. Telling their story together emphasizes the power of words and the importance of using your words for good.
As PB writers, writing in dual narrative, even if just as part of the drafting process, can reveal a lot to us about our stories. Giving voice to a character you thought was just in the background might reveal an important element you’ve been ignoring. Or, as Melanie Watt discovered in CHESTER, your protagonist might completely disagree with EVERYTHING you write!
But no one ever lost out when they made a point of listening to the other side.