Fuse 8 N' Kate

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-m

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 remi

"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://afuse8product

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: Fa

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