Fuse 8 n' Kate

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

It's not every podcast episode where Kate is capable of turning me around, 360 degrees, on a title that I thought I had an opinion on. On paper a book by the guys that brought us Viola Swamp and that uses the term "Stupid" to great effect should be one of my favorite titles. What I didn't understand was that in spite of appearing on ALA's Banned List for a long time, it actually has a great number of problems. It's possible it really hasn't aged well... and not in the ways you might expect....

It's our 250th Episode!! You know, when we first started this podcast we didn't really have a plan in terms of how long it might go. Nor did I lay out a carefully considered explanation from the start of which books we would do, and in what order. All we had was the premise, a catchy theme song, and an unending supply of titles to choose from. Case In Point: We have never done a Richard Scarry book before. Can you believe it? It's true though. You see Richard Scarry's best known books are...

If you looked at the title of this week's podcast book and thought to yourself, "I've never even heard of that one before" then you may know what time it is . . . IT'S CULT CLASSIC TIME! With periodic regularity Kate and Betsy will discuss on Fuse 8 n' Kate those picture books that are, as they like to call them, "cult classics". That means that they are popular with some segment of the audience, if not the entire world. Today that "segment of the audience is" [checks notes] Germany. Yup....

We heard the call and we have responded! It was noted by more than one reader that we've done very few nonfiction picture books on our podcast. We did do So You Want to Be President earlier this year back in February but that was pretty much it. So today, we consider a book produced back in 2001. We know that the standards to which we hold nonfiction picture books has changed in the intervening 21 years. So how does this particular title stand up today? Spoiler Alert: Surprisingly well!...

Happy Halloween! It's the last day of October and that means a final spooky scary picture book is up for discussion. Hat tip to Stephanie Lucianovic for suggesting today's title. Kate and Betsy learn that apparently Judith Viorst is a big time fan of extra long titles (something that was hinted at when she created Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day). In today's book they see some seriously fashion forward footwear and hats, the true horror of cream cheese sandwiches,...

"It's like Candyman if instead of saying his name three times you just called into existence each of his bodyparts." Man. Insult upon injury, today's book. Does the reader really have to call Big Green Monster's hair "scraggly"? That's just wrong, dude. Today Betsy introduces Kate to her very first Ed Emberley book. Sure, it's not terribly Halloween-ish, but it's not NOT Halloweenish, amiright? They consider the ways in which Emberley both invokes a scary monster without making it too scary...

As Halloween draws closer and closer, we delve deeper and deeper into the macabre. We kicked off the month of October with Edward Gorey. Now we're following him up with his spiritual cousin, none other than Hilaire Belloc himself. We're looking at two different editions of the Struwwelpeter-inspired (surely) poem Matilda, Who Told Lies and Was Burned to Death. One edition, illustrated by Steven Kellogg, was produced in 1970. The other, created in 1991 (and originally published in Great...

Proof positive that not everything found in a trunk is gold. Kate's on the hunt for books for Halloween so we took a suggestion and delved into this "lost treasure" from the trunk o' manuscripts of the late Margaret Wise Brown. Betsy will confess to you right here and now that she's kinda out of good Halloween titles to do, so if you have ANY suggestions of other picture book Halloween classics, please oh please suggest them now. We discuss a gender-bent version of Wizard of Oz, why Margaret...