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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"Ah, Kwame. He's going to get tired of winning Caldecotts one of these days." As track records go, we don't want to brag but the Fuse 8 n' Kate podcast does a particularly good job each and every year of selecting potential winners. Just look at last year's picks. Of the three books we discussed one (Hot Dog) became an Award winner and one (Knight Owl) became an Honor. This year, once more, we've selected three books for discussion. But what's this? Do Kate and Betsy disagree on the final winner? See if you can figure out why we split on our final vote in this year's discussion of Tomfoolery by Michelle Markel, illustrated by Barbara McClintock, There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, and An American Story by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Dare Coulter. You can find the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/01/08/fuse-8-n-kate-2024-caldecott-contenders/
Here we are in a great glorious new year, and what are we doing? We're directing your attention backwards in time to 1998. Heck, technically we're going even farther back in time with one of our rare nonfiction considerations on this podcast. Travel to the late 19th century and meet a controversial figure. Citizen scientist or man who mucks with the scientific record? Only you can judge when you listen to our latest episode on the Caldecott Award winning title Snowflake Bentley. Today we discuss our new year's predictions for 2024, what "woodcut cheek" is in picture books (trust me, it's a thing), whether this early manipulation of photographs was an issue in authenticity, and more. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/01/01/fuse-8-n-kate-snowflake-bentley-by-jacqueline-briggs-martin-ill-mary-azarin/
Hiccups or no hiccups, the podcast must go on! Betsy and Kate strive to once again provide a holiday-related picture book. Now Barbara Cooney was much on our minds since Betsy premiered the cover of an upcoming Barbara Cooney picture book bio coming out in 2024. Today's little book is actually still in print (not always a given) and it's an interesting consideration of the effect of WWI on small town Christmas celebrations. We quote So I Married an Axe Murderer, Christmas Spite (which would be a great name for a book), what a "treat poke" might be, and discuss how often it is that women are doing ALL the work and getting none of the credit. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/12/19/fuse-8-n-kate-the-year-of-the-perfect-christmas-tree-by-gloria-houston-ill-barbara-cooney
Kate challenged Betsy to come up with a Hanukkah classic we hadn't done before and Betsy . . . turned right around and asked social media for their thoughts. And let me tell you, social media had some GOOD suggestions! So many that we're saving a long list to consult next year. The ultimate winner for today was selected because (A) You can trust author Eric A. Kimmel to present an original Hanukkah story every single time and (B) Betsy was already on a Barbara McClintock kick this year thanks to her work on Tomfoolery! Today we step back in time to 1998 when Mr. Kimmel thought it might be interesting to go all Borrowers on us and create a tale of tiny people battling great big kitty cats. Tell us we're not the only ones getting An American Tail vibes from this. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/12/11/fuse-8-n-kate-when-mindy-saved-hanukkah-by-eric-a-kimmel-ill-barbara-mcclintock/(opens in a new tab)
Do you know the mushroom man, the mushroom man, the mushroom man? Well you're about to! Here's a question for you: Is a piece of cultural entertainment a "Christmas" title if the holiday only makes a brief cameo appearance? Is the film Meet Me In St. Louis a Christmas film just because it includes the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"? Likewise, is The Mushroom Man, now being re-released by Tilbury House on this, its thirtieth anniversary, a Christmas book? Maybe yes. Maybe no. What is important is that we all discover it together. This is our very first Barry Moser book, and what a title! If you are looking for a completely charming book about two lonely souls finding one another and forming a lasting friendship, this is the book for you!! For the show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/12/03/fuse-8-n-kate-the-mushroom-man-by-ethel-pochocki-ill-barry-moser/
Is it just us, or did someone miss a trick by not creating a new version of Stone Soup for the post-lockdown era we currently live in? Sorry, we're just thinking out loud, but after Kate and Betsy read two different versions of Stone Soup this week (one by Marcia Brown and one by Jon J. Muth) it seemed to us that this story is a lovely metaphor for growing connections and community after harrowing times. In the meantime, it was listener Heather D. who suggested that we consider Stone Soup as a potential Thanksgiving title in the first place. She was suggesting the Jon J. Muth, but Betsy's husband expressed shock and horror that we had somehow not done the Marcia Brown version first. Why choose when you can do both? Today we compare and contrast a 1947 version with a 2003 version of the same story. We discuss how war in a region might easily make folks afraid of strangers, how soldiers attack their problem vs. monks, whether or not this is a technical trickster tale, and how that person who just gave salt got away with murder. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/11/19/fuse-8-n-kate-stone-soup-by-marcia-brown-and-jon-j-muth/
For the very first time in the history of this podcast, we have taken a request... from a publisher. That's right! You know as well as we do that there are reprinted picture books coming out all the time. Well, New York Review of Books sort of specializes in that industry. Their Children's Collection division has a tendency to find old and shockingly beautiful titles worth bringing back to life. And this year, in 2023, they decided to do a book that is so lovely, so strange, and so original that when they asked if we might be interested in ever featuring one of their books, we accepted. And so, it may not be the most famous book we've ever done on the show, but we suspect that it may remain one of the most memorable. There are very few interior designer picture books, so we get into the weeds. And the most important thing of all? After you finish reading this you are fully convinced that the illustrator had fun with this book. We sure as heck did. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/11/13/fuse-8-n-kate-need-a-house-call-ms-mouse-by-george-mendoza-ill-doris-susan-smith
"There's no possible way to describe what you feel, when you're talking to your meal." - Into the Woods I've been waiting far far too long to do today's book. It was introduced to Betsy in graduate school, back in 2003, as an ideal storytime title. Today we consider Keiko Kasza's best known book and discuss what the Kool-Aid Man says, whether or not the pig is a classic trickster character, and if it truly is "a cute book about a pig with an adrenaline addiction and an out-of-shape fox." Bonus: Betsy only makes a single reference to the song "What Did the Fox Say", for which she should earn some kind of an award. Show Notes: For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/11/06/fuse-8-n-kate-my-lucky-day-by-keiko-kasza/
Happy Halloween! It's a day of celebration in more than one way. After all, starting today we FINALLY are able to start doing some Yuyi Morales books on our podcast! It's been 20 years since this little number came out and we figured what could be a better title to cap off our 2023 Halloween season than with Ms. Morales's first title? It's still in print but how does it stand up after all these years? Tricking death/the devil is a Halloween classic in folktales, so we found it particularly apropos for the day in question. We debate whether or not Senor Calavera is supposed to be death himself or not and talk about how different this book might be if it were published for the first time today. Maybe not our spookiest picture book of the season, but certainly one of the sweetest. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/10/31/fuse-8-n-kate-just-a-minute-by-yuyi-morales/
Let the record show that Betsy read through a slew of different Halloween-centric picture book titles before she alighted upon one that was appropriate for the season. Who knew that Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola would be the answer to her prayers? Today we consider a book about, at its core, the difficulty of growing more than a single pumpkin in your pumpkin patch. Kate and Betsy, failed pumpkin farmers both, can relate. In today's podcast episode they talk Jawas, rain barrels, hairless leprechauns, and more. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/10/23/fuse-8-n-kate-the-vanishing-pumpkin-by-tony-johnson-ill-tomie-depaola/
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