What is the most loathed trope in picturebookdom to date? Some might say it's the everyone-forgot-my-birthday plot but we have something even worse in mind. For us, it's the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer topic of everyone being mean until you save their butts in some way and now they like you. Little did we suspect that beloved children's author Dav Pilkey, he of Captain Underpants and Dog Man fame, once capitulated to that very idea in one of his books. Behold! Our first Dav Pilkey title on the podcast! And the last? That remains to be seen. Join us then as we discuss rotary phones, trick-or-treating etiquette, and bad puns (that don't even really work, doggone it).

You can find the full Show Notes of the episode here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/10/27/fuse-8-n-kate-the-hallo-wiener-by-dav-pilkey/