Fuse 8 n' Kate

Jack Kent returns! Not content to rest on his laurels following our episode on There's No Such Thing As a Dragon, we've decided to use one of Kent's books in our VERY FIRST two-part series. And folks? I want you to guess the #2 in this series. Now this book was turned into a Weston Woods video but that's not why it's remembered today necessarily. If we had to make a guess, we'd say that this book is probably remembered primarily because teachers around the country have used it in the spring to show how metamorphosis works. Never mind that the science in this book is WOEFULLY inaccurate. So, in a way, this episode marks the return of the Nonfiction Stickler (which is to say, Betsy). If YOU are a teacher who tends to use this book, allow us to direct your attention to a lovely 2025 publication called Papilio that is just as good as this book, but WAY more scientifically accurate. For the full Show Notes please visit us at: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/06/23/fuse-8-n-kate-the-caterpillar-and-the-polliwog-by-jack-kent-first-in-a-two-part-series/

Here at Fuse 8 n' Kate, I'd like to clarify a few points before we start to discuss today's podcast. First and foremost, this podcast was recorded approximately two weeks ago, well before the events in California right now started to occur. It would not, in a million years, have occurred to us that a discussion of the events that take place in Smoky Night would have had any bearing on the current political situation. To be perfectly frank, more than anything else I wanted to talk to Kate about the book within the context of #MeToo. After all, with the recent discussions of Neil Gaiman and whether or not to strip him of his Newbery Medal following his own recent allegations, it seemed timely to consider our other cancelled children's literature award winner. In this podcast we attempt to delineate, as clearly as possible, the difference between a riot and a protest. We discuss whether or not this was a book that was trying to be Do the Right Thing for kids, and whose lens this story is shot through in the end. You can find the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/06/16/fuse-8-n-kate-smoky-night-by-eve-bunting-ill-david-diaz/

The Queen of Board Books is in the house! I would argue that to be the board book king or queen, you need to work primarily in the genre of board book. And Sandra Boynton is that queen. Fight me. Now I agree that Moo, Baa, La La La might have been a better book to do today, but don't worry. We'll get to it eventually. Today, we look at one of my favorite Boyntons. It has everything! Running around! Evening exercise! Hidden pigs! We discuss the role of bedtime books for small children and whether or not it's fair to slot this book in with titles that are solely meant to lull your child into unconsciousness. Full link in Show Notes: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/06/09/fuse-8-n-kate-the-going-to-bed-book-by-sandra-boynton/

Back we return to the words of Doreen Cronin! We'd done her Click, Clack, Moo in the past (and Duck for President too), but not her other massively successful picture book series. This is also our first Harry Bliss book to boot. We go through all 18 different journal entries of this title and discuss its finer aspects. Along the way we speculate about dated elements like playing marbles and hats with fake arrows going through them. We discuss the history of this specific series. Finally we learn how long worms live and think about how this book would be different if it was published today (*hint* there would be backmatter). For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/06/01/fuse-8-n-kate-diary-of-a-worm-by-doreen-cronin-ill-harry-bliss/

With Kate newly mommified, we try out recording our podcast with baby in tow to see how it goes. So if the episode is a little burbly this time around, you'll understand why. Along the way we also decide to do our VERY FIRST Emily Gravett title. Her debut no less! In reading it, Kate has to deal with this unexpected Kate Greenaway Medal winner and all that that entails. Now we know that a lot of you have been asking us to do Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear for some time. Be patient, my lovelies. We can't touch that one until 2027. For the Show Notes for this episode please go here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/05/27/fuse-8-n-kate-wolves-by-emily-gravett/

Periodically on the podcast we'll consider picture books that could be called "cult classics" in some manner. You know the type. Who Needs Donuts? The Lonely Doll. That sort of thing. They're books that may not be a part of the cultural zeitgeist but for a significant contingent of readers, they mean the world. Bill Canterbury was recently interviewed on Betsy's site in conjunction with the release of his new picture books, and he later sent me some suggestions for the podcast. As such, we thought we might try my hand with this one. We've never done a Seibold before, and we were curious to see how this 1993 publication held up. Turns out... it sure as heck couldn't have come out any year BUT 1993, that's for sure. We discuss the muted palette, busy pages, outsider art, and how this is only one of three books in the same series. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/05/19/fuse-8-n-kate-mr-lunch-takes-a-plane-ride-by-j-otto-seibold-and-vivian-walsh/

It's baseball season! And baby season! Kate just had a baby (her first!!) almost a month early, and now that she has her brain back in order, we're finally tackling a baseball picture book for the spring. Now to our minds, this book is significant because as a work of historical fiction, it was one of the first picture book titles for kids to address a moment in American history that we, as a nation, are not proud of. It's definitely our first Lee & Low book, and spurned on many other books for kids to come. Stay tuned for copious recommendations for readalikes to this title. For the full Show Notes please visit here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/05/12/fuse-8-n-kate-baseball-saved-us-by-ken-mochizuki-ill-dom-lee/

Recently Kirkus Reviews came up with their own list of the Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far). And it seemed to Betsy that it would be a good idea if we tackled one of those books that neither of us knew. Looking into it, they included the 2005 title Martha by the illustrious and highly talented Gennady Spirin. This autobiographical title was never placed in the nonfiction section of any library, but it would fit in there perfectly by today's standards. Listen as we repeatedly mispronounce the creator's name (and then sloooowly get it correct), compare him to Hodor (but with better hair), talk fussy eating, and how if this book was produced today there would definitely have some backmatter urging you not to pick up crows. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/28/fuse-8-n-kate-martha-by-gennady-spirin/

"I want to do something with my life, but with minimal effort." "He's the hero our children need today." Today, there is a mystery at work. For the past two years this 1983 beginner book publication has hit #1 on the Publishers Weekly list of top selling picture books around Easter time. But why? What caused this particular P.J. Funnybunny book to become quite so popular again? We endeavor to find out as we tackle today's title. It's not very Easter-y, but I guess bunnies will be bunnies. Along the way, we talk about the potentially damaging narrative at work here and how this book is, in its way, the complete opposite of a title like Itty-Bitty Kitty-Corn. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/21/fuse-8-n-kate-its-not-easy-being-a-bunny-by-marilyn-sadler-ill-robert-bollen/

It's been a day or two since we did a Mo Willems book on the podcast (and you can believe I'm counting down the days until one of those Elephant & Piggie books turns 20). What absolutely kills me is that we did today's title in complete ignorance of the fact that it was recently adapted into an incredible looking stage production in D.C. with a Chicago-based theater company.... which just closed. Doggone it. This book is interesting for a number of reasons. First off, Mo Willems had already done a Pigeon book (square) and a Knuffle Bunny book (horizontal), but this marked his first vertical book. We discuss our future picture book Steampunk Monster, how Sam's got sass, baby Wild Things, and more. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/14/fuse-8-n-kate-leonardo-the-terrible-monster-by-mo-willems/

Kirkus released its list of the Best Picture Books of the 21st Century and we wanted to do one of the books they included! So Betsy went to GREAT LENGTHS to get her hands on today's book. Folks... she had to go all the way.... to Skokie. That doggone beautiful library system. But it was worth it! Our very first Lauren Child is on the podcast! We talk about how Charlie and Lola were the Bluey of their day, weird Girl Scouts, and we'll tell you that our own picky eating definitely comes to the fore. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/04/07/fuse-8-n-kate-i-will-never-not-ever-eat-a-tomato-by-lauren-child/

It's the 20th anniversary of the publication of Llama Llama Red Pajama, and you know how we've chosen to celebrate? With none other than Anna Dewdney's own daughters, that's how! Berol and Cordelia Dewdney join us as we explore a Llama Llama book for the very first time. For the full show notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/03/31/fuse-8-n-kate-llama-llama-red-pajama-by-anna-dewdney-with-special-guest-stars-berol-and-cordelia-dewdney/

Remember when I was constantly trying to find picture books with tidal waves in them for Kate? Somebody somewhere (forgive me for not writing it down) suggested we try good old Ducky from 1997. It's been a day or two since I picked up the book, so I gave it a whirl and discovered that it would definitely be an interesting title for the old podcast here. As such, we're talking rubber ducks, plastic waste, cut paper, and shark sympathy on the old podcast today. Also, this has GOT to be our most miserable protagonist to date. Talk about not appreciating the adventure you find yourself on. Oy! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/03/24/fuse-8-n-kate-ducky-by-eve-bunting-ill-david-wisniewski/

Happy St. Patrick's Day! You know, this year our library decided to reassess their holiday section and in the course of things St. Patrick's Day got booted from the roster. Why? Because, to be perfectly frank, the number of decent St. Patrick's Day books that come out for kids in a given year is next to none. Smaller than small. For that reason (and because we've covered SO MANY of the usual suspects on our podcast already) Betsy decided to turn once again to the classic fable of Finn McCool or Fin M'Coul or however you like to spell it. Episode 307 was the last time we tackled this particular folktale, and that book was Finn MacCoul and his Fearless Wife by Robert Byrd. How will this book differ? Is it better? Worse? The same? Find out! For the Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/03/17/fuse-8-n-kate-fin-mcoul-the-giant-of-knockmany-hill-by-tomie-de-paola/

Kate gave Betsy a challenge and Betsy.... kinda met it? We've somehow managed to do two picture books in a row on the podcast that involved tidal waves. Betsy was charged with finding a third. To her utter amazement, today's book was not one that we'd done before. Time to buckle up, folks! Kate and Betsy haven't disagreed about a book so much in quite a while. We talk His and Her Preciousses, whether or not apple trees are "insufficiently whimsical", and the degree to which Margaret here is off the grid. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/03/10/fuse-8-n-kate-the-maggie-b-by-irene-haas/

How is it we've never done an Oliver Jeffers book on this podcast? Well, that stops today, folks. Kate wanted something light and goofy, and by gum we'd say this book fills the bill. First off, it came out in 2005 (which means it just barely crests our 20-year rule). Second, it's cute and it's what, we truly believe, put Oliver Jeffers on the map in America. Today we're talking about penguins in all their myriad forms. Kate challenges Betsy to think of another picture book with a tidal wave and so if you folks could help her out, she'd really appreciate it. Any ideas come to mind? For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/03/02/fuse-8-n-kate-lost-and-found-by-oliver-jeffers/

Let the record show that Kate cut out a very long discussion of how much Betsy dislikes bidets from the beginning of this podcast (and Betsy disagrees with this choice but, to be honest, it was a kind of an odd way to start a children's literature podcast episode). Today's book, while it does involve butts, is more about teeny tiny babies. We discuss hot bidet seats, what Jim LaMarche owes to Chris Van Allsburg, adorable weasels, and more. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/02/24/fuse-8-n-kate-the-rainbabies-by-laura-krauss-melmed-ill-jim-lamarche/

The world is in turmoil. On fire. In a terrible state. As such, it seemed a fairly good time to revisit a Jon J. Muth book that would go on to create multiple sequels as well as a series on Apple TV. And its topic? A kind of Zen mindfulness concerning the world in which we live. We're in the mood for a little contemplation and this book serves to answer that need. Along the way we're more than happy to discuss what does and doesn't hold up in this book and whether or not it deserves to be considered a classic. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/02/17/fuse-8-n-kate-zen-shorts-by-jon-j-muth/

Just in time for Black History Month we're tackling a number of firsts on our podcast. Our first Pam Muñoz Ryan book. Our first Brian Selznick book. And while this isn't our first picture book biography, we've done relatively few over the years. Old nonfiction picture books age so poorly sometimes but this title had some incredible backmatter, even by 2025 standards. We discuss how this book has "sepia with depth" yet somehow manages not to be boring looking, and how we'd love to be remembered as "fierce but famous." For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/02/09/fuse-8-n-kate-when-marian-sang-by-pam-munoz-ryan-and-brian-selznick/

We return to John Steptoe once again today, though with perhaps a more complicated title than many of his that we've done before. We discuss at length whether or not this book can legitimately call itself "A Native American legend" and what that does for a contemporary read. This book won itself a Caldecott Honor. Did it deserve it? We have a lot of other questions as well. Does the magic frog have an angle here? Where does the fat old mouse fit into it? Is the aforementioned Magic Frog just Glinda from The Wizard of Oz? And is this story a variation on Rainbow Fish or The Happy Prince? For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/27/fuse-n-kate-the-story-of-jumping-mouse-by-john-steptoe/

Sometimes everything comes together so beautifully. Kate had been asking for a while for Betsy to come up with a fox-related picture book title in which the fox wasn't evil. Meanwhile, Jerrold Connors has been creating a picture book biography of James Marshall called JIM! (which Betsy interviewed him about this past week) in which Jim is portrayed as his famous fox character. The time just seemed right to put these two things together. The James Marshall Fox series had multiple volumes, so which one would be the best to do with Kate? What's that you say? The one where they all smoke cigars? God. It's like you know us. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/20/fuse-8-n-kate-fox-all-week-by-james-marshall/

Hooray! With the ALA Youth Media Awards on the near horizon (Monday, January 27th at 8 a.m. MT to be precise) it's never been a better time to debate some possible winners of the Caldecott Award. Today, I hand over to Kate an unprecedented FOUR possible contenders (rather than my usual three)! Will she opt for the vibrant father-daughter vibes of My Daddy Is a Cowboy, the rainbow wry-wit of Touch the Sky, the luminous family-centric storytelling of Joyful Song, or the heartfelt sincerity of Home in a Lunchbox? Only this podcast can say for sure. For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/12/fuse-8-n-kate-the-caldecott-contenders-of-2025/

A Caldecott Award winner! It's been a minute, hasn't it? When Betsy thinks of today's book she thinks of something David Wiesner said about it during one of his own Caldecott acceptance speeches. "Structurally unlike any medal winner before it — or since — Black and White...redefined the way stories could be told in picture books. And, just as importantly, it did this while being very, very funny." That's our bag, baby. As such, Betsy introduce Kate to this metafictional picture book and the legacy it engendered. Today we discuss newspapers, abstract cows, how the book occasionally hurts Kate's brain, and why it reminds her of the testing she took for her own autism. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/01/06/fuse-8-n-kate-black-and-white-by-david-macaulay/

Betsy has been waiting YEARS to finally get to do today's book. Literally! She read this book over and over and over and over to her small children, and she has every intention of doing the same to Kate's incipient child. Today we get to talk about sheep! Sheep of every type and stripe! We also discuss, for some reason, Australian armor-clad bushrangers, which of these sheep is the most impressive skill-wise, and whether or not this is just Hippos Go Bezerk with sheep! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/30/fuse-8-n-kate-where-is-the-green-sheep-by-mem-fox-ill-judy-horacek/

Just in time for Christmas! So Betsy was on the lookout for Christmas books we hadn't done before and you know who we've never presented on this podcast? Langston Hughes! Heck, we've done James Baldwin, but we've never done Langston Hughes. Oddly, we've done shockingly few picture books over the years around Christmastime that involve baby Jesus. Today we consider an author who was blacklisted in his day and turned to writing books for children to make ends meet. This particular book was also never really intended to be a children's book. It's a series of poems that were adapted into a book format instead. How well does it hold up over time aside from the goodness of its mere existence? We intend to find out. For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/23/fuse-8-n-kate-carol-of-the-brown-king-by-langston-hughes-ill-ashley-bryan/

Since Christmas and Hanukkah fall on the same day this year, Kate and Betsy had a difficult decision ahead: Do we do a Christmas first book or a Hanukkah book. And, if a Hanukkah book, which one? The answer came to us when Betsy discovered the incredible and incredibly weird Moishe's Miracle. Unfamiliar with it? Maybe it deserves classic status as an undiscovered gem. Today we discuss Gremlins, hidden gems, and so much more. For the complete Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/16/fuse-8-n-kate-moishes-miracle-a-hanukkah-story-by-laura-krauss-melmed-ill-david-slonim/

You may have recollections of this book so vague you almost wondered if it was a fever dream you had a child. Well, wonder no longer! Today we're taking a trip to Itching Down where four million wasps cause all kinds of trouble. Like a surreal combination of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and maybe Who Needs Donuts?, join us as we determine whether or not it truly deserves to be remembered as a classic or not. Today we discuss the long forgotten Good Witch of the North, the location of this story, and how, for my generation, this book was "a whole thing." Please see the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/12/10/fuse-8-n-kate-the-giant-jam-sandwich-by-john-vernon-lord-and-janet-burroway/

Turkey day approacheth and, let me tell you, it can be just a tiny bit difficult finding Thanksgiving Day picture books from 20+ years ago that aren't offensive in some way. Today's title came out originally in 1976, though you wouldn't know it from the lead male's shirt which is VERY 1985. We learn a bit about Dahlov Ipcar and consider a book where every single problem in this book could be solved if the farmer just installed, oh I dunno, A FENCE!! This is, to our mind, the story about a guy who went off the grid without doing any research. Enjoy it as we try to determine its place in the Gobble Day pantheon. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/11/25/fuse-8-n-kate-hard-scrabble-harvest-by-dahlov-ipcar/

Betsy got all kinds of addicted to doing Caldecott winners after we recorded an episode on Kitten's First Full Moon. Afterwards, she looked back over our recent books, and somehow we missed doing this book when it hit the 20 year mark. Bonus, it's our first Eric Rohmann title! We don't want to spoil anything, but this is the kind of book that rewards a closer read. Today we're talking tattoos, lapine workout routines, and the likelihood that someone drugged this dang hippo. To put it simply, this is The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions... The Book! You can find the full Show Notes at https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/11/18/fuse-8-n-kate-my-friend-rabbit-by-eric-rohmann/

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/

All around the U.S. kids are beginning to go back to school. With that in mind, Kate asked Betsy to come up with a back-to-school book they hadn't done before. Now you might think that the only first day of school book the great Kevin Henkes created was Chrysanthemum (which we did back in 2021). Not so! Here we find another. Kate says the cover is what you get if you mix Maus with Clockwork Orange (though Betsy thinks it looks more like Maus meets Vertigo). We talk about the panic attacks that are surely in Wemberly's future, how she resembles the Target dog, and why this man knows how to write a book. Mouse SEL books for the win! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/08/19/fuse-8-n-kate-wemberly-worried-by-kevin-henkes/

Our Margaret Wise Brown output on this podcast has, until now, been a bit on the scanty side. Sure, we did Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny but beyond that we've sort of left her out in the cold. All that changes today with this, our third MWB and what may be our very first Provensen deep dive. In light of the new life injected into Little Golden Books as of late, (thanks in large part to a very big pop princess) we tackle one of these very books ourselves. In this podcast, we discuss the types of cones that appear in cats' eyes, the true color of bumblebees, why Greek goatherders resemble 80s businessmen, and so much more. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/08/12/fuse-8-n-kate-the-color-kittens-by-margaret-wise-brown-ill-alice-amp-martin-provensen/

How the HECK have we done 327 episodes of this podcast and we haven't yet done this book? Released in 1991, we can't help but note that this story, of people flying above New York City, happened to come out the same year that a fellow people flying above New York City picture book came out: Tar Beach. Something about the early 90s just made people want to fly away, we guess. Today we tackle Abuela by Arthur Dorros, a book that has remained popular after all these years. Does it deserve the acclaim? We intend to find out. And if we state that this book popularized the connecting-with-your-grandparent picture book idea, then we say the other books out there owe a debt of gratitude to this one. Interestingly, this is one of the first books Kate has run across where the artist's medium is listed on the publication page. Guess they started doing that in the 90s. Yet they never say where Abuela is from specifically. That's something they'd correct today. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/08/05/fuse-8-n-kate-abuela-by-arthur-dorros-ill-elisa-kleven/

By gum, if there's one thing this children's literature podcast needs, it's more Reading Rainbow books from the days of yore. And if that's something we need to go out and find, then surely we will. We were inspired to give this particular book a go after Betsy saw the model of its vehicle on display at Kansas City's The Rabbit Hole. In this episode we discuss the prevalence of the same "a" sound, why this has a Popemobile top, xenomorphs, and extra car features that create duplicate children. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/07/30/fuse-8-n-kate-tooth-gnasher-superflash-by-daniel-pinkwater/

While Betsy often prefers to hand Kate children's picture books to consider that are chock full of details, at a certain point she is forced to come up with books that contain none of that. And you cannot get much more basic than Little Blue and Little Yellow here. Your heroes are essentially paint swatches, after all. In the course of our conversation, though, Kate surprises Betsy by coming up with a discussion of everything from the origins and accuracy of certain nursery rhymes to whether or not Lionni's Italian background affected which gender each color receives in this book.

Kooky that we haven't done this one yet? You betcha. It's well known nationwide, been turned into lots of stage plays, and is generally a book that should be right up our alley. In the pantheon of heroic librarian books, where does this particular book fall out? We discuss the correct length of dinosaur teeth, sensible shoes, and how the HECK the artist created the art for this book. Honestly, we still don't know. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/07/15/fuse-8-n-kate-tomas-and-the-library-lady-by-pat-mora-ill-raul-colon/

The American Library Association's Annual Conference for 2024 may be over but here at Fuse 8 n' Kate the party NEVER stops! And we can back that statement up by pointing out that this latest episode was actually recorded AT the conference. And not only that, it was recorded WITH a special guest star! Turns out, conferences are a great way to connect with folks you've only ever met online. After commenting so well that she was dubbed "the third sister", Kate and Betsy are inordinately pleased to welcome none other than author Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic to the mic. You may remember Stephanie from her myriad books over the years, including this year's Touch the Sky (which has appeared on Caldecott prediction lists for good reason). Today she introduces her long-lost relatives to Swedish author/illustrator Jan Lööf (he, of the double umlauts), a 2011 winner of the Astrid Lindgren Prize. They look at one of his rare English-language translations and talk about whether or not they should institute a new category: Family Cult Classic Picture Books. Which is to say, picture books that aren't famous anywhere outside of your own family. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/07/08/fuse-8-n-kate-whos-got-the-apple-by-jan-loof-translated-by-ole-risom-amp-linda-hayward-featuring-special-guest-star-stephanie-v-w-lucianovic/

We are pleased to announce that with its 2002 publication date we are finally able to celebrate the upcoming Independence Day with a book that Betsy has been sitting on for years. It can be exceedingly hard to find books for this particular holiday. Even better, this consideration of this book marks the very first time the podcast has ever done a Janet Wong or Margaret Chodos-Irvine. Ms. Wong hasn't published since 2015 and Margaret Chodos-Irvine hasn't since 2006, but in their heyday this book marked a dream pairing. It's not the podcast's first picture book to mention pie recently (remember Enemy Pie?) which means Kate's weary, wary, and woozy. Will this book win her over? Let's see! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/07/02/fuse-8-n-kate-apple-pie-fourth-of-july-by-janet-s-wong-ill-margaret-chodos-irvine/

Betsy's logic behind this week's choice is that it is hot outside right now, so why not do a picture book featuring nudity? Now we currently live in a country where so much as a bare butted goblin picture book can get banned by Moms for Liberty at the drop of a hat. May as well go all in and do a book that unapologetically doesn't care about such puritanical mores. This book is an odd one, but Betsy has an equally odd affection for it. With this podcast episode the sisters talk about screaming at women's stomachs, the fact that babies lose hair when they're born, and Betsy incorrectly states that this book is probably out of print (Correction: the paperback is going strong!!). For a complete list of Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/24/fuse-8-n-kate-baby-come-out-by-fran-manushkin-ill-ronald-himler/

Kate's crie de coeur for more blood and guts in children's picture books once again finds its mark. Usually you might associate a book of this sort with titles of a more European bent, but Asch and son are 100% 'merican, baby. With enough weirdness to choke a cat, this one's just so very strange. Not to give anything away but we are exceedingly pleased to state that this book is still in print in paperback form today. We discuss houndstooth suits, Itchy and Scratchy, the sinking of the Titanic, and more. For the show's full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/17/fuse-8-n-kate-mr-maxwells-mouse-by-frank-asch-ill-devin-asch

Oh ho! We haven't done a Steven Kellogg re-illustration title since Pinkereton, Behave! back in 2021! This is particularly strange as The Mysterious Tadpole was always, without a doubt, a favorite Kellogg picture book of Betsy's when she was a child. For various reasons we were never able to discuss it on Fuse 8 n' Kate... until today! We consider the original 1977 edition of this book versus the 2004 update. Now I must warn you that this episode sort of jumps into Betsy and Kate talking about cicadas (again), partly because they're awesome, and partly because the first part of this episode acquired some odd sound issues, so we had to cut out the very first part. Apologies! In this episode we discuss whether or not Alphonse became less cute in the new edition, why the parenting in this new edition is so angry, and why Kellogg felt it necessary to enroll his tadpole in obedience school. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/10/fuse-8-n-kate-the-mysterious-tadpole-by-steven-kellogg/(opens in a new tab)

Here in Illinois the cicadas are truly beginning to emerge en masse. As such, Betsy was kind of hoping she might be able to find a book that speaks to this. Alas, Cicada Symphony by Sue Fleiss (illustrated by Gareth Lucas) is just barely a year old. So what's the next best course of action? Locate some other red-eyed creature found in trees, of course! Now finding old nonfiction picture books with the potential to be called "classic" are few and far between, thanks to our twenty year rule. Fortunately, the farther into the future we tread, the more possibilities there are to choose between. And what better 1999 informational title could one choose today than good old Red-Eyed Tree Frog? Written by an author who has had a HECK of a life (you gotta check out her Wikipedia page sometime). We discuss which came first with this book, the photos or the text, and why sometimes you just gotta get a second moth shot (as opposed to a shot of Malört). For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024/06/03/fuse-8-n-kate-red-eyed-tree-frog-by-joy-cowley-ill-nic-bishop/