Stay ConnectedTwo sisters, one in L.A. and one in NYC, both move to the Chicago area and start a podcast. The premise? Picture books and are they really that great? Join Kate and Fuse 8 (Betsy Bird) as they track down a picture book “classic” each episode and try to determine if it deserves to remain in the canon of children’s literature.
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Fellow librarians who have been around a day or two: Can you believe that Kitten's First Full Moon came out TWENTY years ago? Kate had asked me to come up with an election picture book and I failed miserably (since we already did So You Want to Be President? and Duck for President previously). So Kevin Henkes used to be Mr. Mice. He just did all mouse picture books all the time. My theory is that the turn came around the time he created Kitten's First Full Moon. These days, Mr. Henkes is much more inclined to create emotionally resonant square-sized picture books than vertically inclined mouse-related picture books. Little wonder since Kitten won a 2005 Caldecott Award. Today we determine how well this book has aged in the last two decades. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/11/04/fuse-8-n-kate-kittens-first-full-moon-by-kevin-henkes/
"A ludicrous concept that is funny because it is ludicrous." Just in time for Halloween we have our last Halloween-adjacent picture book title just in time for the season! Kate and I begin by having a detailed discussion of what constitutes a racist or offensive Halloween-related picture book. That won't be a problem with today's book, though. We've been asked for years to do this particular title and with its 2002 publication date, the time has definitely come (we have a 20-year rule when it comes to considering picture books for this podcast). We discuss how true hiccup picture books can only end one of two ways (based on, amongst other things, The Hiccupotamus): Either the other person gets the hiccups (which could be seen as revenge) and the other way is for the original person to then go about their life as if everything fine and then, in the last scene, they come back. What's your take? For the full show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/10/28/fuse-8-n-kate-skeleton-hiccups-by-margery-cuyler-ill-s-d-schindler/
While doing another Chris Van Allsburg picture book may seem like a relative no-brainer around the Halloween season, maybe there's a reason we hadn't done this particular title before. Unlike The Stranger, The Widow's Broom (which Betsy mistakenly calls "The Witch's Broom" on the podcast), or even The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, this particular title feels less like a tribute to the uncanny and more like a failed 1991 diatribe against television. The monkey sailors have NOT aged well, and it just sort of feels like a lesser Van Allsburg. But let's dive into the ins and outs of this potentially creepy title. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/10/21/fuse-8-n-kate-the-wretched-stone-by-chris-van-allsburg/
We are in the thick of spooky season! Betsy came a hair's breath from trying to do The Vanishing Pumpkin again (you can listen to the previous episode featuring that book on this podcast) but at the last possible second she did a hard right turn and decided to go with yet another Brinton Turkle title (the previous Turkle was The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Spring, which he illustrated). Not to spoil anything but Kate was unexpectedly charmed by this tale of orange cats, incredible interior design, and banjo clocks. It's hard to think of a "cozy" Halloween picture book, but this might well fit the bill. Let's hear it for competent middle-aged women heroes! Woohoo! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/10/14/fuse-8-n-kate-do-not-open-by-brinton-turkle/
We're so pleased. For years Betsy has been waiting for today's book to hit its 20th anniversary in the hopes that we might discuss it on the podcast. Now, at long last, we finally have the chance to kick off the Halloween season with Wee Winnie Witch's Skinny: An Original African American Scare Tale. There is just so much to talk about with this book. We'd already done a Barry Moser in The Mushroom Man, but this one is VERY different. There's trauma and woodcuts, but don't let that get you down. There are also some legitimately good scares. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/10/07/fuse-8-n-kate-wee-winnie-witchs-skinny-by-virginia-hamilton-ill-barry-moser/
"If you're looking for a typical story with words and a plot, this ain't it. Go somewhere else." It's the podcast we've wanted to do for months. The ultimate crossover. For the first time, TWO School Library Journal podcasts have come together to consider the classical status of a picture book of the past. You know him. You love him. You cannot help but be aware of his blog (100 Scope Notes), his picture books (The Ship in the Window, Just One Flake, etc.), or his podcast (The Yarn). His co-host Colby Sharp was unavailable but we did get... Travis Jonker! Woohoo! Yay! As per usual, when we have a guest on the podcast we ask them to select a picture book to discuss. Travis's choice is none other than that Remy Charlip delight, Thirteen. A 1975 release, it was re-released in 2018 and remains in print to this day. Amongst its many fans are Brian Selznick, who modeled his character of Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès on the face of Remy Charlip. Today we discuss how this book "rewards repeat rereading" and how it reminds us of Black and White by David Macaulay (though that was only four stories. Not thirteen!) It's a dream for fans of tiny details. Discover it for yourself. For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/10/29/fuse-8-n-kate-crossover-episode-the-yarn-presents-travis-jonker-with-thirteen-by-remy-charlip-and-jerry-joyner/
"Hurt creatures hurt creatures." Initially I heard about today's book on the podcast The Sartorial Librarian, and they discussed it so brilliantly that Betsy absolutely had to grab it for the recording today. This is an Australian title that somehow has escaped the greater notice of America until now. We aim to change this! Originally published in 2000 in Australia and American in 2001, this is unlike any other book you've ever seen. From the typography to the writing the deeply disturbing and wonderful storytelling at work, we dive deep into this one. By the way, this book is out-of-print at the moment, so if some small publisher with a smart head wants to bring out a book about how animals suffer after wildfires (particularly in the Australian landscape) this is an ideal title to consider. Bring it back! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/09/23/fuse-8-n-kate-fox-by-margaret-wild-ill-ron-brooks/
Kate asked Betsy to bring in a fireman/firefighter/firetruck book to discuss as a possible classic. Now if you had to name a 20+ year old picture book featuring that kind of subject matter, what would you choose? Back in the day Betsy read to her kids a veritable plethora of such titles. And the one that rises to the top when she tries to think of the older ones? This little number by Wong Herbert Yee. We talk about where Yee went (where did he go?), why parents get really interested in sleep deprived characters, and whether or not Fireman Small needs some additional training. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/09/16/fuse-8-n-kate-fireman-small-by-wong-herbert-yee/
The election isn't until November, but we figured it would be a good idea to tackle the season early before everyone starts plugging their ears saying, "La La La! I can't hear you!" And as luck would have it, today's particularly political picture book came out 20 years ago this year. Now in previous election years, Duck for President was released every four years. It is not, as far as I can tell, being released in 2024. Why is that? This podcast episode aims to answer that question, as well as assess how Duck for President has aged. Has it stood the test of time? Let's find out! We discuss how this book clearly is just barely missing the term "hanging chad" and whether that's relevant to voters today. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/09/09/fuse-8-n-kate-duck-for-president-by-doreen-cronin-ill-betsy-lewin/
Our very first Bill Peet! Please understand that the whole reason we haven't done him before is because unlike a lot of animators-turned-author/illustrations, he has no single huge title that he's known for (unlike Seuss or P.D. Eastman). Betsy literally had to look up the Peet titles that are most prevalent in her library's consortium. The winner? Today's book! Today we talk about Katy the FOMO Train (as we would deem her), caboose-eating monsters (who sadly don't appear in this book), and why we call this the Choose Your Own Moral book. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/09/02/fuse-8-n-kate-the-caboose-who-got-loose-by-bill-peet/
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