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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How old are we all that Trashy Town is 21 this year? Is it just us or does that seem like a very large number? Continuing to attempt to find storytime classics that librarians love, Betsy has Kate take a look at this readaloud classic. And, if you recall, Kate does not always take to storytime books. Many questions are raised in the course of the proceedings. Does Mr. Gilly work for the city? What is the nature of the rat's open mouth? Is Mr. Gilly picking up syringes and blood behind that doctor's office? And why the heck did they name their burg "Trashy Town"? Seems a poor choice and could affect the tourism industry. Please see to it that you enjoy the different rhythmic renditions of the chant in this book. The Monty Python one may become your favorite. For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/01/13/fuse-8-n-kate-trashy-town-by-andrea-zimmerman-david-clemsha-and-dan-yaccarino/
This past weekend Betsy took a trip to the Chicago Children's Museum with her kids, and lo and behold she stumbled upon a Mo Willems exhibit currently showing. She marveled at how the show cleverly integrated elements of the artist's books with honestly good, interactive stations. In a nod to Mo's background in animation, for example, kids can turn (oddly sturdy) cranks which flip pages featuring his characters doing an array of different things. Of course, by complete coincidence Kate and Betsy had just finished recording their episode on Knuffle Bunny Too. It's been a while since they've done a particularly famous book, and this would be the perfect way to kick off the new year. Mind you, longtime listeners might remember that Kate has never been the biggest Mo Willems fan out there. She wasn't particularly enamored of Knuffle Bunny the first. How would the second fare? For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2020/01/06/fuse-8-n-kate-knuffle-bunny-too-by-mo-willems/
It's the last day of Hanukkah and what better way to celebrate than with one book split into two parts? In 1990 Eric Kimmel adapted a story he'd written for Cricket Magazine to a picture book format and called it The Chanukkah Guest. Then, in 2013 he took that same Cricket Magazine tale and turned it into the slightly different Hanukkah Bear. One story. One author. Two different versions. Are they both Hanukkah classics or will only one make the final cut? Betsy and Kate discuss every possible angle and come up with the perfect title for a new holiday book: Hanukkah Hangry. You are welcome to use it. Just credit us with the title. For the complete show notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/12/30/fuse-8-n-kate-the-chanukkah-guest-hanukkah-bear-by-eric-a-kimmel/
Today's book is sort of a favor to Kate and Betsy's mom. She's always been very fond of this particular telling of The Nativity, and it remains a favorite to this day. And it's so nice to return to Julie Vivas again! When last seen on this podcast we were looking at her book with Mem Fox called Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (found here: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/04/22/fuse-8-n-kate/). By the way, Betsy begins by saying that this book is out-of-print. Turns out there's a paperback edition (ISBN: 9780152060855) that's absolutely in print and FINE! So no worries there. False alarm! Show Notes: Thanks to the wonders of Google Books, you can actually find the selection from Censorship: A World Encyclopedia where the objections to this book are recorded here: https://books.google.com/books?id=nzisCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT1869&lpg=PT1869&dq=the+nativity+julie+vivas+censorship&source=bl&ots=gR_0T8y8Cv&sig=ACfU3U0l6llPRJ27Pmyb0nw3Bb1s4E8now&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwitrbK9-8rmAhWCGM0KHd8CAkEQ6AEwD3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20nativity%20julie%20vivas%20censorship&f=false For the full show notes, please visit us here: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/12/23/fuse-8-n-kate-the-nativity-by-julie-vivas/
Ah! At last! The chance to combine three of our favorite types of literature: Holiday Books, Wordless Books, and Cult Classics. In trying to find a new Christmas classic to do with Kate, it occurred to Betsy that the two had never done this particular book. It first came to Betsy's attention years ago thanks in large part to Alison Morris (now working at First Book). Unfamiliar with it? We hope you like a book that leans into its weirdness. For full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/12/16/fuse-8-n-kate-a-small-miracle-by-peter-collington/
In some ways, 2019 was kind of a fortunately/unfortunately kind of year. Seems appropriate that we would tackle Remy Charlip's best known work in one of our final podcasts of the year. Librarians adore this title because its readaloud potential is huge. Will Kate love it for its originality, or detest it for the complete lack of sense it makes? You cannot help but love the fact that she believes that given Charlip's origins, letting Ned die would have been the Frenchest ending of them all. Or that if you try to work out the geography of this book, you're in trouble. He goes from New York to the water with sharks to an island with tigers . . . to Florida? For the full Show Notes visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/12/09/fuse-8-n-kate-unfortunately-by-remy-charlip/
Sometimes you just gotta read something awkward. Today, in spite of Betsy's determination never to do so, she skipped over ALL the previous Little Bear books produced by Minarik and Sendak and handed her sister the strangest of them all. Will Kate or Betsy think that this book is essentially the cringe comedy easy book of children's literature? Will Kate find a good image for a tattoo? Is there any situation where it is not weird to "kiss the bride"? Show Notes: The Kirkus review of this book is THE BEST! https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/else-holmelund-minarik/a-kiss-for-little-bear/ For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/12/02/fuse-8-n-kate-a-kiss-for-little-bear-by-else-holmelund-minarik-ill-maurice-sendak/
When Kate challenged Betsy to find a classic Thanksgiving book, she made the mistake of saying off-handedly, "Oh, it could just be about food too." Ah HAH! Food, eh? Well, they'd already done Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, so that could leave only one other famous food-related piece of children's literary history. That's right. Time to down some Green Eggs and Ham. For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/11/25/fuse-8-n-kate-green-eggs-and-ham-by-dr-seuss/ Betsy anticipated our discussion of whether or not this book is more of a St. Patrick's Day title. What she did not think of was whether or not this book would tap into Kate's bottomless knowledge of sales. It does, she shares her opinion, and Betsy get scared. And really, isn't being scared by your relatives exactly what Thanksgiving is all about anyway? Happy listening! Show Notes: This book showed up at #12 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll. There are some very funny links in there that you might find worth checking out: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/06/15/top-100-picture-books-12-green-eggs-and-ham-by-dr-seuss/ Betsy wasn't wrong. Here is the bizarre description of this book in the NYPL catalog: https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb18712668__Sgreen%20eggs%20and%20ham__Orightresult__U__X7?lang=eng&suite=def Do you harbor any curiosity at all about the Netflix show? Here's a trailer to clarify matters. It's . . . uh . . . it's something all right. Guess Kate was right about the two being strangers at the start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaqKPRxxaSk And I found the video of the Rev. Jesse Jackson reading snatches of the book on Saturday Night Live. Darndest thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1mqg4C0awA
It seemed like it would be a pretty safe bet that Kate wouldn't have heard of this week's book. A little 1977 beauty it is. Betsy and Kate haven't done a Pinkwater book before, and this is a heckuva way to begin. It's a glorious celebration of disappointing the homeowner's associations of the world. It also apparently has to do with Nickelodeon, how to keep a pet alligator, and magical mystery lemonade. Show Notes: For further information about that weird moment when a standardized test took one of Pinkwater's stories and asked kids to explain it, check out this New York Times article on the subject: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/nyregion/standardized-testing-is-blamed-for-question-about-a-sleeveless-pineapple.html Woohoo! Teaching Children Philosophy is baaaack! Here is their section dedicated to The Big Orange Splot: https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/BookModule/TheBigOrangeSplot For the full Show Notes, please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/11/11/fuse-8-n-kate-the-big-orange-splot-by-daniel-pinkwater/(opens in a new tab)
If there's one thing we know, it's that there are two kinds of picture books that are most often divisive: the message-y books and the sweet and fuzzies. Combine the two and you get The Kissing Hand. There is NO doubt that the book is loved deeply by Kindergarten teachers, but would you call it a picture book classic worthy of keeping on shelves for decades to come? Betsy really didn't know how Kate would react to this one when I handed it to her. Would she be charmed? Be appalled? And, as ever, Kate surprises Betsy. She's good at that. Show Notes: - Honestly, if you know why there used to be two illustrators associated with this book and then, later, only illustrator Ruth E. Harper was mentioned on the book's website, please let us in on the story. - Yep. On the Top 100 Picture Books Poll it came in at #95: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/16/top-100-picture-books-95-the-kissing-hand-by-audrey-penn/ - Here's the link to Letters to Chester, which is entirely free and online for you: http://www.tanglewoodbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Letters-to-Chester_Layout_LowEmail3c.indd_.pdf - Want to cook up some Kissing Hand cookies of your own? This one with Hershey's Kisses makes a lot of sense: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2011/08/kissing-hand-keepsake-craft-math.html And finally, here is the book trailer for Fabulous Monsters by Alberto Manguel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXg1bPoqHDU For the full Show Notes, please visit http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2019/11/04/fuse-8-n'-kate:-the-kissing-hand-by-audrey-penn,-ruth-e-harper-&-nancy-m-leak/
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