All Right Already
All Right Already!
A snow-day standoff between a neighbor who wants to play and a neighbor who does not. By Jory John and Benji Davies.
Read Aloud for Your Family
Press play, gather the kids, and let the story do the work.
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ABOUT THE CREATORS
About the Author and Illustrator
AUTHOR
Jory John
NYT bestselling picture book author of The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and the Duck and Bear series.
ILLUSTRATOR
Benji Davies
Award-winning London-based illustrator and animation director known for The Storm Whale and Grandpa's Island.
Jory John
Jory John is a New York Times bestselling author of picture books including The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and the Duck and Bear series. He has twice won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Illustrator
Benji Davies
Benji Davies is an award-winning illustrator and animation director based in London. His picture books include The Storm Whale and Grandpa’s Island, and he has been the illustrator on every Duck and Bear book since Goodnight Already. He lives in London with his family.
What Happens in the Book
Duck shows up at Bear’s door in full snow gear. Boots on, hat on, mittens on, the whole outfit. The snow outside is perfect, the hill is ready, and the only thing missing is Bear.
Bear is in pajamas. Bear has cocoa. Bear has a blanket, a book, and zero interest in going outside. Bear explains, very politely, that he is in for the day and would Duck please take his boots off again.
Duck does not take his boots off. Duck pitches the hill. Bear refuses the hill. Duck pitches a snowman. Bear refuses the snowman. Duck pitches everything short of a full snow-day itinerary, and Bear refuses everything. The standoff builds the way the Duck and Bear books always do, and the compromise lands on Duck’s terms without either of them having to admit it.
Duck goes out alone, and Bear watches from the warm house, still holding his mug and his blanket.
Who This Book Is For
Duck shows up at Bear’s door in full snow gear, mittens and all, ready for the day.
The book is listed at ages 4 to 8, and works especially well for the kid who always wants to go outside and the parent who always wants to stay inside. The Duck and Bear books have always split their audience down the middle, and this one gives both sides a face to root for.
It also works as a snow-day read aloud for the kid who has a neighbor, a sibling, or a parent who says no to every plan. The compromise at the end is a small lesson in not dragging people out of their comfort zone.
Why It Works for Kids
The book is almost entirely dialogue. Bear’s refusal lines and Duck’s pitch lines carry the rhythm, so the page turns feel like a back-and-forth volley rather than a story moving forward in time. Kids can perform it without realizing they are reading.
Benji Davies does the same job on the page that he has done in every Duck and Bear book. The house and the snow are drawn in the same warm yellows and cold blues, and the characters’ expressions tell you which side of the standoff the page is on. By the time Duck comes up with the compromise, the art has already shifted the room temperature and the kid gets it without you having to explain it.
By the last page, the standoff has softened, and Duck’s compromise gives Bear a way to come outside without leaving his mug behind.
The book is almost entirely dialogue. Bear’s refusal lines and Duck’s pitch lines carry the rhythm, so the page turns feel like a back-and-forth volley rather than a story moving forward in time. — All Right Already!
Learn More About This Book
Official & Community
- HarperCollins product page (publisher)
- Reviews on Goodreads
- Jory John (author site)
- Benji Davies (illustrator site)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this book different from Goodnight Already?
Yes. Goodnight Already is about Bear trying to sleep while Duck keeps him up. All Right Already is about Duck wanting Bear to come out and play in the snow, and Bear refusing. The characters are the same, the tone is the same, the joke lands the same way.
What is the resolution at the end?
Bear stays inside, and Duck finds a way to bring the snow-day fun to Bear without dragging him out. The compromise lands on Duck’s terms, which is the small surprise the series has been building toward.
Are there other Duck and Bear books?
Yes. The series has four books: Goodnight Already, I Love You Already, Come Home Already, and All Right Already. All four are by Jory John and Benji Davies and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Why do kids like this book?
The book is almost entirely dialogue, which makes it easy for kids to perform. The page turns line up with Bear’s refusals, which gives a clear comedic rhythm. The art does a lot of the work, so the kid who wants to read it again and again gets something different every time.
