Today's discussion centers around whether our featured book bears more of a resemblance to Eloise or Last Stop on Market Street (and not in a good way). By the end of the talk you will come to the conclusion that this may, in fact, be both the most capitalistic and least capitalistic book of all time. Special Bonus: The cruelest Kirkus review we've read aloud on any of our podcast episodes. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/08/09/fuse-8-n-kate-the-table-...
Aug 09, 2023•32 min
When we're not talking about the unrealistic L.A. highway driving times in the Barbie Movie, we're discussing our favorite picture books and whether or not they're classics. I admit that we have done Helen Oxenbury on the podcast relatively recently, but due to its stature in the children's literature world, I felt that his was an egregious gap in our knowledge until now. Think of Farmer Duck as a variation on Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type, but with a more revolutionary and less unionization...
Jul 31, 2023•27 min
Believe it or not, Syd Hoff's been in the news quite a lot lately. Not bad for a pronounced children's literature 1930s Communist, eh? You could be forgiven for not knowing a lot about Syd Hoff. Honestly, we'd managed to skate through a significant portion of my life remaining unaware of him apart from the fact that there was some racist stuff at the beginning of the original editions of Danny and the Dinosaur. Now that book series is being turned into a movie series and a book of his early Comm...
Jul 24, 2023•28 min
Recently Betsy created a post of picture books that belie the idea that all picture book "classics" are by white people. Amongst these were books with Jewish content. But when you sit down and look at those titles you notice that most of these are Hanukkah-related titles. So at the suggestion of Lisa Brown we're doing the very last William Steig picture book that was ever published. This book was released in spring of 2003 and he died in the fall of 2003. Not too shabby. The man was a genius but...
Jul 17, 2023•30 min
Have you ever wanted to listen to an episode of our podcast but thought to yourself, "This is good, but what would it sound like with more background noise?" At last! Now you have your answer! At the most recent American Library Association Annual Conference in beautiful downtown Chicago, Illinois we bring to you the first LIVE recording of Fuse 8 n' Kate! And what book could be deemed worthy enough of this recording? That would have to be Hippos Go Beserk! by Sandra Boynton, published in 1977. ...
Jul 10, 2023•26 min
We had the honor of recording a guest post earlier in the week with none than the irascible, charming Jerrold Connors! Jerrold is the creator of the massively creative Donut Project which contains hilarity and collage-created donuts. Jerrold is also the creator of what I would call the most interesting picture book biography of James Marshall I've ever seen. But, of course, Jerrold is a longstanding fan of our podcast, so he knew pretty well what kind of recommend. What ensues is an in-depth dis...
Jun 26, 2023•32 min
NOT our first Mercer Mayer! Previously we did his book There's a Nightmare in My Closet but it's hardly the man's most famous book/series. Meet Little Critter! At last, he makes his debut on our podcast! The two books we're discussing today originally came out in 1975 and 1983 and then went on to spawn the series we know so well. So once again we have to ask: How come they're moderately well known but not household name known? Interested in how we made these podcasts, by the way? Well, I would l...
Jun 19, 2023•31 min
Here on the podcast we are constantly in search of those children's books that represent a variety of backgrounds and identities that have not been sufficiently praised in the past. Today we're dipping into the BBC's list of 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time and as a result we're doing our first Helen Oxenbury title. Bonus: It's also our first Trish Cooke! This book works as a magnificent readloud as well as a lapsit book. And, as Kate so often requires, the art is packed full with tiny ...
Jun 12, 2023•29 min
In today's podcast Kate expertly cut out the earlier part of the show where I presented a book to her only to find that we'd done it already. 20 minutes later I was back, and the book I had in hand was today's title, Anatole by Eve Titus, illustrated by Paul Galdone. This is our first Titus and our second Galdone (we did The Tailypo for Halloween one year). We talk about why Anatole never reached the same heights of fame as such series as Madeline or Eloise, why this is the less famous of Eve Ti...
Jun 05, 2023•31 min
Could there be any connection between "Harvey" Potter and "Harry" Potter? No! This delightful picture book was released in 1994, long before the world appearance of the boy wizard. You know how we're always talking about finding classic children's books of the past written by Black creators that exemplify Black Joy? I submit the following for serious consideration. Strange hardly covers it. This book was a marvelous example of the strange and unusual placed in a dull setting. And how about that ...
May 22, 2023•31 min
You know what the problem is with Mother's Day picture books? Not enough of them are truly horrifying and scary, that's what. So we must credit listeners Lindsey Foat & Sara Hudson for coming up with today's suggestion. Certainly, Audrey and Don Wood have been on this podcast before. We recall having done King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, The Napping House and even The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear in the past. Now we tackle that universal problem of what to do ...
May 15, 2023•29 min
Hat tip to Nick Bruel (our other other brother from another nother mother) for today's suggestion. He asked if we'd done any Ezra Jack Keats before and we said, "Sure! We did The Snow Day". Then he asked if we'd done Apt. 3 and we had NOT! Plus, Betsy had recently highlighted on her blog the new Keats bio for adults, Becoming Ezra Jack Keats, so this seemed particularly apropos. In this episode we discuss how this book is like Only Murders in the Building, how, from a color-perspective, this boo...
May 08, 2023•29 min
Kate sez: I want to do a spring book. Betsy sez: Here's a dead bird! With editions created both in 1958 and in 2016, Betsy was lucky to find BOTH editions in her library system. This episode marks our third Margaret Wise Brown book (after Goodnight Moon and Runaway Bunny), our second Remy Charlip (after Fortunately), and our very first Christian Robinson. Notable for the line, "Have you considered that the bird might smell really really good?" There's not a lot of information to be gleaned from ...
May 01, 2023•30 min
What happens when a designer decides to make picture books? What happens when she goes and gets creative with the illustrations? While remembered for many things, I'd say that this 1983 release is without a doubt the best known of creator Ann Jonas. You may remember it yourself. It's the picture book where you read it one way and then turn it upside down and read it the other. It feels like a dare, and comes off as the number one book Betsy had to produce when she worked as a children's libraria...
Apr 24, 2023•30 min
Here at the Fuse 8 n' Kate Podcast, we have a rule. It's a simple one, established since the start of the broadcast. Essentially, we don't like to consider books published until they've been on the market for 20 years or more. It's not exactly a hard and fast rule (we've broken it more than a few times) but it serves as a strong guideline. Today, however, we got mad. Specifically, we got mad at Ron DeSantis and all the horrendous book banners out there who seek to rid the world of books featurin...
Apr 17, 2023•30 min
In what may be the most quintessentially "New York" picture book we've done to date (with hints of Where the Wild Things Are in the margins) we confront a 1979 Caldecott Award winner and tackle Betsy's childhood memories of it along the way. Today we discuss a variation on the previously reported upon picture book It Could Always Be Worse, but with an addition of tropical birds, floating islands, and John Tenniel references. Show Notes: For the full Show Notes please visit - https://afuse8produc...
Apr 10, 2023•30 min
Roy G. Biv, eat your heart out. We're taking a deep dive into a listener suggestion with a trippy dippy 1978 German import from an Italian creator who retired to France! Today we're talking Optimus Prime, The Never Ending Story, rock album covers, and carnivorous flowers/rainbows. If you're into long, languorous moments in picture books where people drown, have I got a book for you!! A pourquoi story done in an utterly original fashion. Show Notes: If you'd like to see even more art from this bo...
Apr 03, 2023•29 min
The art of picture books based on animated properties has a long and storied history within the oeuvre of children's literature. We've eschewed doing much in the way of Seuss lately, but due to the fact that we've been doing multiple books where child or child-like characters are approached by members of the medical association, we felt we'd cap everything off with this tale of a boy doing his own thing in the early 50s. That's BOUND to go over well! Along the way we talk about picture books in ...
Mar 27, 2023•31 min
To our amazement we have somehow never done this particular David Shannon book before. Tis possible? Tis! It is, as Kate says, "The trippiest book," which is part of why Betsy respects it. Betsy freaks out over the fact that this came out the same year as No, David (how often does an author/illustrator have two classic books come out in the same year?). Meanwhile Kate freaks out over the creepy guys lurking on this poor girl's lawn. But the important thing? We debate whether or not you can buy l...
Mar 20, 2023•31 min
This month we'll see the publication of Lisa Brown's wonderful picture book The Hospital Book, which may be the best going-to-the-hospital title for kids out there. Because usually, you have to admit, when people walk into your children's library in search of picture books about going to the hospital, what they get is a title from 1966. We've already covered the problematic George in Curious George and Curious George Takes a Job. This is the seventh and last book that was created by George's ori...
Mar 05, 2023•31 min
Since the entire premise of this podcast with Betsy and Kate is to take well-known books and determine whether or not they continue to deserve their "classic" status, it probably behooves them to do a couple books everyone has actually heard of. And since the last book they did was, at best, obscure and, at worst, completely forgotten, they figured today that they should go all in and do something out-and-out famous. To their surprise, they've never tackled a Jan Brett book before. That said, th...
Feb 20, 2023•31 min
Librarians, if you're anything like Betsy, then, when the time is right, every year you trot out the same dang Valentine's Day books that are in the Holiday section of your library. All the newer books go out first, leaving behind the stuff that came out in, oh say, 1999. This is the rare example of a book that Betsy didn't know bupkiss about. She didn't know anything about the creators or the title itself, so we're just jumping in because a quick read yielded strange thoughts. In today's discus...
Feb 13, 2023•31 min
In our current era, it is worth considering the legacy of folks like Verna Aardema. Kate and Betsy are no children's literature academics, but they decide as laymen to take into account Aardema's history and how it does or does not stand out after all these years. Having already done Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by this same trio (Aardema, Dillon, & Dillon) they return to their works with this 1977 take on a classic Masai tale. Considering its year and the appropriation by a white cr...
Feb 06, 2023•30 min
Considering the fact that (A) Groundhog Day is this week and yet (B) we have never done a Groundhog Day episode, that gave us the impetus to tackle a groundhogian classic. But which one? With all the choices we decided to pluck out this title by the guy who brought us Harold and the Purple Crayon. Like that book it indulges in a limited color palette and Johnson's characteristic drawing style. As such, prepare for long discussions on precisely what the Groundhog Day rule actually means, larger t...
Jan 30, 2023•29 min
Hat tip to author/artist Jerrold Connors for realizing, long before we did, that Arnie the Doughnut would hit its 20th anniversary here in 2023. At last we can tackle the story of a sentient pastry and his longing for meaning in a cold, hungry world. Since its initial publication, the book has managed to create sequels, a musical, graphic novel/early chapter books, and more. But will it stand up to Kate's scrutiny? Betsy rants about New York City doughnuts and why they suck, how Arnie both think...
Jan 23, 2023•31 min
It's that time of the year again! A week from today we'll see what books have officially won Caldecotts, Newberys, and other sundry awards at the ALA YMA announcements (visible here). Betsy will also be doing a Pre-Game announcement of all kinds of possible wins. But before that, we've an annual tradition here at Fuse 8 n' Kate where Betsy presents Kate three potential winners and she considers which ones have the best chance. This year Kate feels that there is one clear cut winner . . . and a b...
Jan 16, 2023•31 min
KPOM! It was a storytime staple for Betsy back when she was a children's librarian. But how has this 1988 picture book stood up over the intervening years? Today it's time to accompany our previous spider-filled picture book The Spider and the Fly with another eight-legged potential classic. We've done one other Eric A. Kimmel book on the podcast before (remember Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins?). In spite of the sheer number of times I've read this book, Kate finds PLENTY of details in Janet S...
Jan 09, 2023•30 min
While we acknowledge that the year 2023 has arrived, we could resist considering one last 2002 title. As you know, we've a cap on considering any book younger than 20 years old, and as of 2022 this Wilson/Chapman collab fit the bill. It's cold outside and a story of FOMO and snuggly bear caves seemed to fit the bill. We consider the book that launched a thousand other Bear books. Anyone who can rhyme "lair" with "bear" has earned our trust. Show Notes: If you'd like to read the interview with Ka...
Jan 03, 2023•31 min
We may already be past Christmas technically, but what a day or two delay? Thanks to the recent winter storms we got a tad delayed in releasing this episode, but better late than never. Today we return, once again, to the world of Tasha Tudor. Last time we considered one of her books we were examining her A Time to Keep (a favorite of Betsy's, Kate ... not so much). There are many different iterations of Clement C. Moore's classic poem, but how many take the man at his word and decide to depict ...
Dec 27, 2022•31 min
Betsy actually went out and purchased a copy of today's book a year ago and has been holding onto it just for this time of year. Granted, it's not Hanukkah for a couple weeks now, but our schedule is a little sporadic this month so no time like the present! This week we consider what, in some ways, might be the flipside of another Hanukkah book we did a number of years ago, The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming. Screaming or laughing, the real question here is this: Do you put applesauce or sour...
Dec 12, 2022•30 min
