Every year, Kate and Betsy do one Caldecott prediction post for their podcast. Betsy hands over THREE books that she thinks are contenders. Then the two discuss and predict which ones might win the big awards. They usually manage to get at least one Honor (and last year they got two!). This year we're pretty confident that at least one of these three books will win something on Monday. Trouble is, Kate never seems to have the same reactions to these stories that Betsy does. Listen up and you'll see why. Get ready for a discussion about the significance of cardinals, font sizes, and how one of these books is clearly sponsored by Big Monday. For the full Show Notes, please read on here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/01/20/fuse-8-n-kate-caldecott-contenders-2026/

In preparation for the upcoming holiday (on Monday) we are FINALLY tackling what I (spoiler alert) consider to be the one, the only, the BEST book on MLK ever to grace a picture book page. Published in 2001, we right a great wrong and finally tackle this most eminent of titles. Along the way we talk about why the heck it lost to another book for the Caldecott Gold (I've a theory that the true winner was, what Betsy likes to call, a "compromise book"), its beauty, its legacy, and more. Please see the full Show Notes here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/01/14/fuse-8-n-kate-martins-big-words-by-doreen-rappaport-ill-bryan-collier/

Happy New Year! We start 2026 off with a puzzle: How can four people all work on the same picture book at the same time? And why? What's the process, and how on earth do you embroider every page? When Kate told Betsy she wanted a New Year's book, she failed to specify precisely what kind of New Year's. And since the Vietnamese new year of Tet occurs in January/February, Betsy took that as permission to finally tackle this fascinating 2003 publication. We go over our past predictions and resolutions, Tet, bananas, embroidery, and what a "leather mouse" might be. For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/01/05/fuse-8-n-kate-ten-mice-for-tet-by-pegi-dietz-shea-cynthia-weill-to-ngoc-trang-and-pham-viet-dinh/

It's a Christmas book! It's a Hanukkah book! It's a Christmas AND a Hanukkah book! And a Patricia Polacco book as well. She's back, baby. Will Kate be charmed by the message of this inclusive title or will other elements win out in the end? We discuss the grammatical components of when one "thrills", continuity errors, kosher menorahs, and more! For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/22/fuse-8-n-kate-the-trees-of-the-dancing-goats-by-patricia-polacco/

On the first day of my podcast my true love gave to me... Jan Brett!

Yes, we're in the thick of the holiday season now, and what better way to kick off our holiday picture booking than with, not simply a Christmas classic song/book, but a classic picture book creator as well! Brett last appeared on our podcast in an episode on The Mitten. Since then she's been strangely AWOL from our discussions. All that changes today, as we talk about why anyone would put a wig on a bird, what a "milk parties" might consist of, whether a "lord" needs to capitalize their title, and so much more.

For the full Show Notes, please read on here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/15/fuse-8-n-kate-the-twelve-days-of-christmas-by-jan-brett/

Having spent ample time in the presence of Jon Agee himself at The Rabbit hOle at the recent Tomi Ungerer Symposium, Betsy determined that we hadn't actually done one of his books on our podcast yet. Today we take on a book that I like to pair alongside Fortunately. As for why we've chosen this particular title, it's all thanks to the suggestion of listener Rachelle Leon Pilarski. Thank you, Rachelle! Will Kate find the title appropriate or will she eschew it entirely? For the full Show Notes, please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/12/08/fuse-8-n-kate-terrific-by-jon-agee/

For the first time we are simultaneously recording alongside another podcast. The podcast in question? The Book of Life, which has been in existence for a good 20 years now (this month!). And let me tell you... when it comes to Jewish children's literature content on a podcast? There really isn't anyone else that can match synagogue librarian Heidi Rabinowitz. She knows what she's doing. Today, she is joining us to talk about a very special book for our Hanukkah episode. Our podcast requires books to be 20 years old and Heidi's podcast is, itself, 20 years old. So we're doing a Hanukkah book that's 20 years old as well! She discusses interviewing Sims Taback, the demystification of Judaism through Jewish children's books, and the dangers of silo-ing Jewish literature.

For the full episode Show Notes, look no further than here: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/30/fuse-8-n-kate-with-special-guest-heidi-rabinowitz-the-borrowed-hanukkah-latkes-by-linda-glaser-ill-nancy-cote/

Oh. Full credit goes to children's book creator Ursula Murray Husted for today's find. You know, we've done a lot of feast-adjacent picture books in conjunction with Thanksgiving in the past (Green Eggs with Ham, for example). But today's book is a bit of an outlier in that respect. Aside from Cranberry Thanksgiving, I can't think of the last time we did a legitimately Thanksgiving-themed picture book. Today we do our first Crescent Dragonwagon title (complete with a marvelous explanation of her name), our second Aruego/Dewey title (after Leo the Late Bloomer) and our latest abecedarian book. Will it pass muster? Only time will tell.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/24/fuse-8-n-kate-alligator-arrived-with-apples-a-potluck-alphabet-feast-by-crescent-dragonwagon-ill-jose-aruego-and-ariane-dewey/

New General Rule: When a celebrity promotes an already existing picture book, it is rarely a good thing. I am thinking, naturally, of the episode of Friends where they read Love You Forever in its entirety. But it doesn't just happen on television shows. Recently a Kardashian recommended today's title, and to my horror and delight it's 20 years old (if you go by its original self-published publication date). A self-proclaimed books for parents (rather than children) we have to weigh Tillman's talents as an illustrator against her storytelling choices. The end result is that we have two rather different final scores. Listen and see why that is!

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/17/fuse-8-n-kate-on-the-night-you-were-born-by-nancy-tillman/

We don't play this up much, but this actually marks the first appearance of Chris Raschka on our podcast. And WHATTA debut! This taps into my love of all picture books in which the protagonist gets eaten. But for Kate, she hyperfixates on the very semantics of the word "sardine". How can you hope to become the thing that you already are? That little delve into the philosophical underpinnings of edible tiny fish is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to today's discussion. Suffice to say, we diverge WIDELY on our interpretation of this book. In face, we may be as different on our votes for this book as we have ever been.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2025/11/03/fuse-8-n-kate-arlene-sardine-by-chris-raschka/