Episode 202 - The Widow's Broom

"If this really is the ghost of the broom, I hope it hacks the men to pieces!" The search for potential Halloween classics continues!! This week Kate and Betsy turned their eyes back to good old Chris Van Allsburg. Previously seen on a Halloween-centric episode of the show with The Stranger, he has returned! This book is from 1992, and it's had a relative amount of success. What Kate and Betsy end up loving about it, though, is how female-centric it is. It's all about women helping women helping women. Look at how the men in the book are even treated. A fascinating tale that passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test with flying colors. Show Notes: Please, if you get a chance, you MUST check out Slap Happy Larry's relatively recent blog post The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg Picturebook Analysis. This will occupy you all day, and is a great deep dive into the subject matter: https://www.slaphappylarry.com/widows-broom-chris-van-allsburg-picture-book/ If you're interested in this claim that there's a bog not far from Evanston, Illinois, here's the link that Shannon provided: https://www.friendsofvolobog.org/?fbclid=IwAR1J173DD8fjEU5aRr_YCBZRICy3GYZ9YLaZ0RB2-9whLcpFPFeUlH--zHg For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2021/10/18/fuse-8-n-kate-the-widows-broom-by-chris-van-allsburg/