With the recent death of Floyd Cooper, we were inspired to discover which picture book of his could be best considered a "classic" of the genre. It's a hard call, and we're sure you have your own favorites, but we're going with this 1994 release. Plus, it has the extra added benefit of being the first Nikki Grimes title we've done on the show! Show Notes: Here you can enjoy this interview with Nikki Grimes, which delves deep into her life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1evVHnBU5NE For the full...
Jul 26, 2021•32 min
On today's podcast we thought we might try another Audrey & Don Wood title above and beyond the already commented upon King Bidgood's In the Bathtub. It's a cumulative tale that has continued to remain in print for the last 37 years. We discuss tiny ligers, whether the mouse in this book has Toxoplasma gondii, and the likelihood of a carbon monoxide leak in this particular house. Show Notes: - At the top of the show we mention an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. It's called Mar...
Jul 19, 2021•30 min
Having already covered the recently departed legend Eric Carle, we figure it only makes sense (and is fair) to mention the other recently departed legend, Lois Ehlert. But which book to do? Betsy will confess to you that 95% of my choice to do this book was based on a letter Bad Kitty author Nick Bruel once wrote to Ms. Ehlert, alongside a box of chocolates (read on this show). In this episode the sisters insult one another's mom, discuss a TikTok challenge, and determine the proper pronunciatio...
Jul 12, 2021•30 min
Having failed to secure a proper Fourth of July picture book (and really, isn't the 4th soooo yesterday?) Betsy decided instead to take several listener recommendations and go all in on Jane Yolen's 1987 Caldecott Award winner. What better book to look at on these hot July days than a cold story of moonlit driven snow on a wintery night? Kate and Betsy try to make weird owl noises, debate why we don't eat them for food, and play the game of "Guess How Many Books Jane Yolen Has Written." Show Not...
Jul 05, 2021•29 min
Betsy thought she knew how this story was going to end, and it definitely took a hard right turn that she was NOT expecting. We're talking about Pete Seeger's Abiyoyo, a title Betsy first encountered as a child on Reading Rainbow. But what looks at first to be a simple case of cultural appropriation turns into something a bit more complicated. There are all kinds of twists and turns in our discussion today, and many of our assumptions walking in were upended. We talk scofflaws, why Abiyoyo is th...
Jun 28, 2021•31 min
Betsy wanted to do books in honor of the recently deceased Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, but then Kate went and got married and Betsy had a writing retreat the week after that. Now they are back! Kate's got a ring, Betsy's got a manuscript (sorta), and they've both got a book from Eric Carle to discuss. A book with nudity! A book that's been banned more than once! A book that includes neat little details. And stay tuned and see if you can catch something new in the closing credits. Show Notes: Her...
Jun 21, 2021•30 min
"Somebody's getting maaarried!" People of a certain generation will know to sing that line to a tune created for the film The Muppets Take Manhattan. Of course in our case, it's Kate who is getting hitched later this week (on Friday!). So while we do want to do a book in honor of Eric Carle and one in honor of Lois Ehlert, this is not the right week to do so. But what wedding related picture book could Betsy possibly come up with? None other than the very German picture book The Pigs' Wedding. O...
May 31, 2021•31 min
In honor of the recent death of children's author Arnold Adoff, Betsy thought it might be a good idea to consider a book that many call the first professionally published picture book to feature a biracial family published in the United States. Originally released in 1973, we look at the 2002 edition (re-illustrated by the same artist as the first time, Emily Arnold McCully). Betsy gets very excited about the fact that Adoff was not only married to Virginia Hamilton, but that he met her as a nig...
May 24, 2021•30 min
"I am perfectly willing to believe that this is a stupidflock." Kate's getting very fond of giving Betsy challenges. This week? To do another celebrity picture book. Betsy had already handed her a Julie Andrews, and it's still too soon to do Madonna. Where does that leave them? Well, let me put it this way: If you wanted to learn about a book based on a film that included in its cast (amongst others) Estelle Getty and Melissa Etheridge, today's your lucky day. Kate and Betsy tackle Harvey Fierst...
May 17, 2021•35 min
We've been through the desert on a horse with no name. Now we don't usually feel a need to warn you guys ahead of time, but here's the low-down on this week's book. Long story short, we don't much care for it. A little disheartening too that Paul Goble won a Caldecott for this title 43 years before the first picture book Award (not Honor) went to an Indigenous illustrator (2021's We Are Water Protectors). Kate and Betsy discuss its many of the problematic elements. At length. With relish. Show N...
May 03, 2021•30 min
Today, Kate argues that the true title of this book should really be "Mr. Grumpy", that Forrest Gump has some similarities to the text (that one's a stretch), and Betsy commends the book's excellent use of the term "squabble". Kate also says that Mr. Gumpy should have told the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly to shut her mouth and all would have been well, while Betsy wonders if Mr. Gumpy's lines only sound rude when Americans say his lines. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://blogs.slj.co...
Apr 26, 2021•30 min
When it comes to Arthur there is LOT to pick apart! Thanks, in large part, to the television show from 1996 which (checks watch) is still playing to this day. We go way way way back to 1976 to his VERY post-60s semi-psychedelic origins. Back when he actually looked like the aardvark he claims, to this day, to be. We talk earth pigs, children's access to unnecessary cosmetic surgery, and how the entire point of the book is for the hero to fail to do something. And if you want a look at the racism...
Apr 19, 2021•30 min
Hope ya like math, happy people! Today we take a look at what may well be the best known math-related picture book that doesn't involve just counting. By some odd quirk of fate, Betsy has chaired the Mathical Book Prize committee, and One Grain of Rice was awarded its Hall of Fame status. Today Kate and Betsyt talk about Demi's real name, her hugely famous ancestors, and why she's called "Demi" at all. And hey, is that really true that we don't throw rice at weddings anymore because uncooked ric...
Apr 12, 2021•31 min
In the hopes of recognizing some Asian and Asian-American picture books that don't, for a change, contain horrible stereotypes, Kate and Betsy wanted to look at a good book. Trouble is, they have a 20-year rule when it comes to books they consider. That means no Bee-Bim Bop and no Henry and the Kite Dragon. They're too recent! Betsy eschewed The Name Jar since it was a little too close to the content of last week's Chrysanthemum. But why not do the very first Grace Lin picture book? So she snagg...
Apr 05, 2021•29 min
Her children mocked MOCKED Betsy, I say, when she informed them that she and Kate had not yet discussed Chrysanthemum on the podcast. Why the shock and horror? Well, apparently they've done 176 episodes and yet completely failed to acknowledge what could arguably be called Kevin Henkes's most famous picture book. Why the bold claim? Well, insofar as we can tell, 21st century children find themselves being read this book MULTIPLE times during the course of their school career. And why not? This i...
Mar 29, 2021•31 min
St. Patrick's Day comes early this year! Is it the worst classic-picture-book-holiday of all time? That's Betsy's take. But Kate challenged her to find such a beast, so she figured she'd cut her losses and hand over two to choose from. She didn't anticipate that Kate would choose BOTH! Betsy mostly chose one because it was the first time she'd seen that particular author/illustrator pairing. She chose the other because libraries pull it out every single year for their displays. No spoilers, but ...
Mar 15, 2021•30 min
And to think we had never read this book before. When we heard that the Dr. Seuss estate was pulling six relatively obscure Seuss titles from publication due to offensive content, we thought we might try one on for size. We'd already done the worst of the bunch (inarguably If I Ran the Zoo) but since we just did Eric Carle's very first illustrated picture book last week, why not do the very first Dr. Seuss circa 1937? That was a while ago. Beatrix Potter liked it, but will we? Mmm. Show Notes: -...
Mar 08, 2021•32 min
Our very first screw up! Huzzah! Betsy walked into the recording with Kate safe in the knowledge that they hadn't done Chicka Chicka Boom Boom before. Never mind that they actually did do it almost exactly a year ago. Whoops. So in a pinch Betsy decides the time is right to do a different Bill Martin Jr. It's the very first book that Eric Carle ever illustrated and he's redone it something like five times. In the course of things Kate puts forward the theory that this is the picture book version...
Mar 01, 2021•28 min
If for nothing else, you should listen to Kate's story at the beginning of this episode because it will be the craziest dang thing you've heard in a while. A truly great story. Now last week Kate challenged Betsy to do something in honor of Black History Month. So Betsy dove deep into the Coretta Scott King winners of the past and discovered a gaping hole in our roster. How we hadn't done this book already is beyond us but we think a book that takes place in the steaming hot days of a NYC summer...
Feb 22, 2021•28 min
If one were to attempt a Valentine's Day podcast episode (or, in this case, a day-after-Valentine's-Day-post) involving romance, what picture book would you choose? Or, to be a little more precise, what classic picture book best embodies the spirit of Valentine's Day? We're pretty sure it wouldn't be this book, but that's just because sentient candy oinkers aren't really an American thing. We've done two Russell Hoban books on this podcast already (Bread and Jam for Frances and Emmet Otter's Jug...
Feb 15, 2021•31 min
In lieu of anything romantic, what with Valentine's Day on the horizon, Betsy thought she'd treat Kate to a wordless picture book chock full of more details than she could ever shake a stick at. Mitsumasa Anno died on December 24, 2020 and Betsy realized they'd never done one of his books on the show. The sheer amount of intricate dots in this title would make Peter Sis blush. Will Kate like it? Let's just put it this way: When she comes back from reading it she says it's full of, "Duels, clowns...
Feb 08, 2021•30 min
Are you ready for a thoughtful consideration of some very angry feelings? YES YOU ARE! This week Betsy shows Kate a book that, in many ways, really inspired the plethora of books about strong emotions (and how to deal with them) that so many books replicate today. A lot of us are feeling like Sophie these days. It's funny how you can not think directly about a book for a long time and then see it and suddenly have wild opinions about it. But are Betsy's opinions pro or con? Are Kate's? There are...
Feb 01, 2021•30 min
On this most auspicious day in which the Newbery and Caldecott winners are announced (amongst many other fine and wonderful awards), we thought it might be a nice change of pace to do a cult classic. In other words, a book that never had a chance of winning a literary award a day of its life. This book, which Betsy has in her possession was a gift from her friend and fellow co-writer on Wild Things, Peter Sieruta. It is not in print. Good luck finding a copy. But if you'd like to read it for you...
Jan 25, 2021•35 min
There is a certain type of picture book that can be best described as a Love It or Loathe It title. These are books that some people adore with their whole heart without irony. And there are books that some people loathe deep down to their very souls without apology. It had been a long time since Betsy had handed Kate a Giving Tree or Rainbow Fish. So how would she react to this particular old chestnut? Published in 1994 in Great Britain and 1995 in the States, few would contest that this book b...
Jan 18, 2021•28 min
Betsy already loved all three of today's potential Caldecott Award winners down to the cold cockles of her shriveled little heart. The track record on this show hasn’t been too shabby either. In 2020 Kate and Betsy identified Going Down Home With Daddy as a winner (just don’t ask how they did in 2019). In the course of this recording the sisters discover that the most amusing way to talk about the information at the end of a book is to say “backmatterbackmatterbackmatterbackmatter”. Kate meanwhi...
Jan 11, 2021•37 min
After one of our listeners made the point that the bulk of books we've done on our podcast have been illustrated by male artists we've been trying to make a conscious effort to increase the number of women we read. And WHAT book, I ask you, could have more classic potential than Barbara Cooney's best known? We talk invasive species, seed bombing, how nice it is to read a book that doesn't call a single woman a spinster, and why it is that Maine loves its children's book creators more than any ot...
Dec 28, 2020•30 min
"Christmas was coming, and money was more scarce than ever." How we hadn't thought to do this picture book for the Christmas holiday season yet is beyond us. Betsy simply adores the Jim Henson adaptation of this book . . . and Kate loathes it. Knowing that, Betsy still gave her the book and the two discover that this is the ultimate 2020 COVID Christmas title. I mean, what other holiday book can you name where the characters actually say, "Maybe Christmas next year will be better." In the course...
Dec 21, 2020•31 min
Happy Hanukkah! Having read the recent PW Children's Bookshelf announcement that a new edition of Latkes and Applesauce by Fran Manushkin is due to be republished in 2022, I thought this might be the perfect time to revisit the old book. The announcement said it was a classic, so we figured we'd check and see how well it had stood up so far. Along the way we also cover how "Big Latke" got to Kate, TBD dogs and cats, what Daveed Diggs has to do with Hanukkah, and why Betsy probably shouldn't conf...
Dec 14, 2020•31 min
An orange fellow is told to leave over and over and over again. So it clearly has nothing to do with the state of the world today. As we mention on today’s podcast episode, when it finally occurred to Betsy to have Kate read this book, she was slightly worried that maybe it would no longer be timely. HA HA! No worries there! We go through all the political ties it has had to world leaders, and Kate brings up the peculiar aspect of watching someone berate a little cute guy into leaving. I mean, w...
Dec 07, 2020•29 min
We don't care what any of you say. Sweet potatoes shall never cross these Thanksgiving plates of ours. To celebrate the season, though we all know it's pared down terribly this year, Kate requested a Thanksgiving picture book classic. We got some great suggestions from our readers all of which Betsy is placing on the back burner for next year. That's because this year she's doing a book circa 1971. In the course of things, Kate creates a shocking backstory worthy of V.C. Andrews while Betsy deep...
Nov 23, 2020•30 min
