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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Episode 410 - The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll & the Broom Handle and Who Was in It by Betsy Bird and Kate Atienza
Betsy promised Kate that they'd do a British picture book today in celebration of Kate's recent trip to the fair British Isles. It had occurred to Betsy that they'd never done a Babette Cole book before, so she worked out which one is perhaps best known over there. Now we probably should have done the incredible Mommy Laid an Egg, but Betsy felt like Kate needed a gentler introduction to Cole's work. In the discussion we point out that in Canada we have The Paperbag Princess, in England we have Princess Smartypants, and what does America have? If you have any ideas of what the logical third leg in this triumvirate might be, we welcome the suggestion. You can find the full Show Notes for this episode here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/18/fuse-8-n-kate-princess-smartypants-by-babette-cole/
So folks ask me to do more nonfiction on this podcast, and while I admit that it is a bit of a stretch to call today's book pure nonfiction, I at least think that it's closely aligned. It's not a biography, though. Consider it more of a personal memoir from 1962. In essence, it's the true story of Andy Warhol's extended family, written by one of his nephews. Sadly, James Warhola didn't continue to make much in the way of children's books (though he did make a sequel to this book called Uncle Andy's Cats). We discuss everything from David Bowie's depiction of Andy in the film Basquiat, to creepy ventriloquist dummies, to what you should do if roughly a dozen members of your extended family show up at your door (answer: put them to work). For the full Show Notes of this week's episode, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/11/fuse-8-n-kate-uncle-andys-by-james-warhola/
As it turns out, this is the second time we've done a Pat Mora/Raul Colón collaboration. With this book, though, we delve into a moment in children's book publishing history when multi-ethnic tall tales were the name of the game. It's been a while since we've done a legitimate honest-to-goodness folktale on this podcast. They were once the lifeblood of children's libraries, and these days they're rare gems. This book came out during a rise of legitimately tall "tall tales" in picture books. I'm talking everything from Big Jabe to Swamp Angel (both of which we need to get to). We discuss the fact that this 2005 publication came out when books still italicized their Spanish language text. We also discuss the fact that this book can't decide whether or not the potential antagonist of the piece is a puma or a mountain lion. For the full Show Notes please go here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/05/04/fuse-8-n-kate-dona-flor-by-pat-mora-ill-raul-colon/
It's time to bring out the big guns. The big... Australian guns, that is. The last time we did a Mem Fox title on this podcast it had to have been Where Is the Green Sheep? And the last time we did a Julia Vivas? It was probably The Nativity. Put the two creators together and you have yourself a fascinating tale of a new picture book author attempting to create something wholly Australian for the picture book buying public. Australian Listeners Beware: We do some truly regrettable, terrible Australian accents in the course of this recording. This book would go on to sell 5 million copies, which we think we can count as a success. For the full Show Notes you can read on here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/20/fuse-8-n-kate-possum-magic-by-mem-fox-ill-julie-vivas/
"I would trust my baby with Amelia Bedelia before I trusted it with Carl." "Well... she does have opposable thumbs." Poor Kate has just survived the ordeal of solo parenting for around a month with a child not yet a year old and still not on solids. As such, Betsy thought the time was right to spring upon her everyone's favorite doggie babysitter, Carl. How would Kate react to Carl's less than entirely 21st century appropriate babysitting techniques? Today, we discuss whether or not Kate had the strange new COVID version (the Cicada Variant!), whether or not the mother in this book is perfectly aware of what Carl is capable of (Kate makes a VERY strong case for believing that this is not the first time Carl has been placed in charge like this), why the baby lacks self-preservation skills, and more. You can read the full show notes at https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/13/fuse-8-n-kate-good-dog-carl-by-alexandra-day/
After Passover, before Tax Day, the holiday Betsy decided to discuss today is Easter! Now Kate already met Max and Ruby back in September of 2025 with Max's Dragon Shirt. Betsy thinks it's weird. Kate doesn't. But a chocolate chicken is not a thing. Betsy gets to mention how the Max & Ruby books are much like episodes of The Simpsons. Why? Because it's easy to ask, where does the cut-off between the good early work and the later lesser work lie? We may disagree a bit about this episode but one thing we can see eye-to-eye on? "Max... pull yourself together," is indisputably a great line. For the full Show Notes please go to https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/30/fuse-8-n-kate-maxs-chocolate-chicken-by-rosemary-wells/
We return to the wordless and spare once more. Lehman's Caldecott Honor winning title is an exercise in restraint. And since Kate is extra tired these days with her baby, I figured getting her a book with as few words possible was a smart way to go. We discuss super grippy mittens, how to "pull-a-Curious-George", and we divide on the ending. Where do you fall? You can read the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/23/fuse-8-n-kate-the-red-book-by-barbara-lehman/
“Hubris, Kate. He suffers from hubris!” We’re on the cusp of spring, so full credit to Eric Carpenter for pointing out to us how egregious a gap we’ve had in our roster until now. Have we really and truly never done that spring book to beat all spring books Muncha Muncha Muncha??? Such a thing seems inconceivable and yet… here we are. Today Kate and Betsy discuss bunnies, munching, and the role that illustration plays when our own personal preferences come into it all. Candace Fleming’s been having a stellar year (becoming the first person to receive the Children’s Literature Legacy Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award in the same year, in addition to her book Death in the Jungle winning the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults). Now she faces the ultimate challenge: Whether or not her picture book from 2002 is actually a classic.
I know you're all desperate for spring out there, but winter's not done with you yet! With that in mind, we tackle what may well be the most famous snowman-related picture book outside of the Raymond Briggs classic. Betsy introduces Kate to a title that has remained WELL in print since its publication back in 2002. For those of you peeved that we don't know how to pronounce the Buehners' last name, I would like to point out that I did go to Teachingbooks.net and they did NOT provide a pronunciation guide to that name on either one of them. On this show, Kate provides fun snowmen-related facts, we are sad not to see any curling, and we marvel at how good Buehner is at figuring out where the lights are coming from in these nighttime sequences. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/03/09/fuse-8-n-kate-snowmen-at-night-by-caralyn-buehner-ill-mark-buehner/
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