Fuse 8 n' Kate

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. The first of Ms. Boynton's books, the title has since been republished (and re-illustrated) in 2022. Today, we consider the original (Sandra Boynton's first book for children) and its updated edition to determine whether or not it deserves "classic" status or not.

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/07/10/fuse-8-n-kate-hippos-go-beserk-by-sandra-boynton-live-from-ala/

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 discussion of elements of a title that have, and notably have not, aged well.

Show Notes:

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/06/26/fuse-8-n-kate-weslandia-by-paul-fleischman-ill-kevin-hawkes-with-guest-host-jerrold-connors/

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 like to note that our podcast will be recording at 2:30 CST on Saturday, June 24th in the School Library Journal booth on the ALA Conference floor. If you'd like to hear us do a show, stop by and see us!

Show Notes:

For the full show notes, please visit us at: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/06/19/fuse-8-n-kate-just-for-you-i-was-so-mad-by-mercer-mayer/

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 details you might otherwise miss. Woot!

Show Notes:

For the full Show Notes please visit: fuse-8-n-kate-so-much-by-trish-cooke-ill-helen-oxenbury

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 Titus's fictional rodents, and this book's connections to Ratatouille. This is a Post WWII-France where if you want to feed your family you have to create your own job in the marketplace. Some of us can relate.

Show Notes:Here's the BBC's 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time. The very very white list. Many a fine book is on here BUT . . . whaaa? https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230522-the-100-greatest-childrens-books-of-all-time

In case you doubt me, there was indeed an Anatole TV series. And its animation was . . . abysmal:

https://youtu.be/VTZWuAhUp4g

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/06/05/fuse-8-n-kate-anatole-by-eve-titus-ill-paul-gadone/

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 ending? Here we have a story about someone in middle America going against the norm, facing censors, and coming out triumphant. Sounds like a book we might very much need today.

Show Notes:

Want to connect to Jerdine Nolen on social media? Find her on Twitter at @jerdinenolen1.

Betsy Recommends: The Instagram account @ksrhoads

Kate Recommends: The documentary Still, streaming on AppleTV+

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/05/22/fuse-8-n-kate-harvey-potters-balloon-farm-by-jerdine-nolen-ill-mark-buehner

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 when your child has been turned into camembert. In short, we talk about the ultimate mama bear story. Let's just say that this book passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test with flying colors and we really hope that someday there will be a Heckedy Peg 2: The Heckoning.

Show Notes:

Good old Reading Rockets was good enough to find Don and Audrey Wood and interview them about the creation of many of their books, including this one. You may see their talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaWoJ8S18DA&t=2s&pp=ygUYbWVldCBhdWRyZXkgYW5kIGRvbiB3b29k

Betsy Recommends: Mrs. Davis, now streaming on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/stream-tv/mrs-davis

Kate Recommends: Queen Charlotte, now streaming on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81476183">Queen Charlotte

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/05/15/fuse-8-n-kate-heckedy-peg-by-audrey-wood-ill-don-wood

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 book is quite muted, compared to previous titles by Keats like Whistle for Willie, and why you should never follow someone when they ask, "What's the matter - scared?".

Show Notes:

And here, we are so pleased to show you, is the original 1971 Kirkus review of Apt. 3. It is, as is often the case with this publication, delightful: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ezra-jack-keats/apt-3/

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/05/08/fuse-8-n-kate-apt-3-by-ezra-jack-keats/(opens in a new tab)

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 Christian Robinson's version of this tale, but we were able to track down this interview he conducted with Secret Society of Books and it does offer a window into his thought process on this project: https://www.secretsocietyofbooks.com/interview-christian-robinson/

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/05/01/fuse-8-n-kate-the-dead-bird-by-margaret-wise-brown-illustrated-by-remy-charlip-and-christian-robinson/(opens in a new tab)

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 librarian. Countless adults would come up to her saying, "There was this book when I was a kid and it was black and white . . ." They literally didn't have to say anything else after that. We have no doubt that this book blew little minds. It may not be the most plot forward of the picture books out there, but who the HECK cares?

Show Notes:

We mention a couple books in the course of this podcast. If you like this one, please check out Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri or the works of Bruno Munari.

Betsy Recommends: The If Books Could Kill podcast

Kate Recommends: The morathanenough Instagram account

For the full Show Notes please visit: https://afuse8production.slj.com/2023/04/24/fuse-8-n-kate-round-trip-by-ann-jonas/