Fuse 8 n' Kate

The last time Kate and Betsy saw a Dr. Seuss book they were reading If I Ran the Zoo. Not an auspicious beginning for the usually good doctor. In the course of this particular book, Kate manages to locate a place where Seuss got lazy and Xeroxed one of his two-page spreads (something Betsy had never noticed before). There is also talk about Thurl Ravenscroft (and how dead he is), odd Grinch theories, like the fact that his heart may expand and shrink regularly, and are these chimneys essentially pneumatic tubes that suck up the bags?

One of our favorite episodes in a long time.

Show Notes:

- This book appeared at #61 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/23/top-100-picture-books-61-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-by-dr-seuss/

- Ask and the universe will provide. Here is Zero Mostel reading The Grinch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hts_sj-0_14

- And heck. While we're on the subject, here's Walter Matthau reading The Grinch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuq3AqIjtAg

- Halloween is Grinch Night! Betsy still harbors a weird affection for this. Partly because Hans Conried (who starred in the live action Seuss film The 10,000 Fingers of Dr. T) did the Grinch's voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygSEkwRCQPM

For the complete Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/12/18/fuse-8-n-kate-how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-by-dr-seuss/

After doing Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins last year, Betsy was having a devil of a time (no pun intended) figuring out another Hanukkah classic. After some serious consideration, she decided that this book would give us, as she says on the podcast, a little meat. A little fodder. Something to discuss. What she didn't see coming, though, was how timely this story truly was. How does it feel to live in a society that is constantly pummeling you with religious messages that are not your own? Little wonder the latke screams.

Show Notes:

- Betsy mentions Funny Girl. Golly, that would make a swell gift for people to give to their 9-12 year old loved ones. Check it out here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/318948/funny-girl-by-betsy-bird/9780147517838/

- Interested in getting your own full series of Baby Be of Use? I am pleased to announce that they are for sale on Lisa Brown's website: http://www.americanchickens.com/baby-be-of-use/

- A staged production of this book, eh? Here's an ad for one that will make you sad you missed your chance to see it live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0frEnxt1tM

- In case you missed it, you can see the NPR Book Concierge here: https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2018/

For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/12/11/fuse-8-n-kate-the-latke-who-couldnt-stop-screaming-by-lemony-snicket-ill-lisa-brown/

Truly a book for our times. Is there any other picture book out there that causes kids to question what they've been told right from the start, more than this one? This book is timely. It prepares children, in an era of news that is not always reliable, to not take everything at face value.

Warning: At one point during the end of the podcast Betsy does briefly mix up Zul and Zod. Children of the 80s, please forgive her.

Show Notes:

- Here is the highly strange Wikipedia entry for this book. Once the entry goes on to 1993 it gets highly confusing. Yet another example of not believing everything you read? Considering that we're talking about Wikipedia, that would follow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mysteries_of_Harris_Burdick

- The website for this book is called Who Is Harris Burdick? Highly worth your time. It's filled with so much fun stuff! It may not have been touched since 2011, but it's still fun and fantastic. Educator guides, tips for writers, tips for teachers, kids stories, etc. http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/index.html

- For The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, here is the official video the authors made of it and awww! Walter Dean Myers! Stay for the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=M3kpYep7EQw

- You can see some animations for two of the stories here. The animation for The Seven Chairs isn't too bad, but Uninvited Guests is creeeeepy... http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/features/harrisburdick/inspired_by_burdick.html

- Watch this song inspired by The Seven Chairs instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKYkFsggPK8

- The 2008 musical of the show did indeed exist. Here's a song for "Under the Rug" performed at the 92nd Street Y: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrqTNUx7Uxg

- For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/12/03/fuse-8-n-kate-the-mysteries-of-harris-burdick-by-chris-van-allsburg

Let's see. After Tikki Tikki Tembo and Little Black Sambo, it seems like Arrow to the Sun is the natural complement to those two, don't you think? Kate and Betsy haven't dug deep into a book with racist issues in a while, and they've never done any books where white folks told the stories of American Indians. In this post-Thanksgiving episode the sisters give as much of the history of this book as possible, all thanks to the work of K.T. Horning and Debbie Reese. Meanwhile, Kate gets confused about the actual storytelling itself, and Betsy cannot get over how a book from 1974 looks this much like a video game.

Show Notes:

- Behold and marvel at the lack of information on the Wikipedia entry for this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_to_the_Sun

- K.T. Horning's Horn Book article Arrow to the Sun and Critical Controversies is a piece Betsy cribbed (read: stole) from heavily for this podcast episode: https://www.hbook.com/2013/09/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/arrow-to-the-sun-and-critical-controversies/

- Pitfall came out in 1982, by the way.

- For the record, the song "Cat's in the Cradle" came out in 1974. The same year as this book. Coincidence?!?

- There are two articles on Arrow to the Sun on the blog American Indians in Children's Literature. The first dates back to 2006: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2006/10/gerald-mcdermotts-arrow-to-sun-gerald.html

- The second from 2009 looks at the book's discussion guide: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2009/04/scholastic-guide-to-arrow-to-sun.html

- Ten years later that discussion guide is still going strong on the Scholastic site: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=32388

- This would be the "book" sequence in Hocus Pocus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKNm3KVDq28

- Go here to see The Neon Museum of Las Vegas: https://www.neonmuseum.org/

- For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/11/26/fuse-8-n-kate-arrow-to-the-sun-by-gerald-mcdermott

William's Doll: Revenge of the Ascot!

The big news of the day is that Kate and Betsy have created a petition. It's the very first they've ever done and its purpose is simple. As you'll hear on today's podcast, they are big time fans of today's book, but they'd rather like it if Harper Collins could publish a re-illustrated edition. The reasons for this are, as you will hear, pretty clear. With different clothing, they think William's story could reach a whole new slew of kids, and really strike the message home. That said, in the podcast Betsy does make one key mistake. She says that this book was published by Greenwillow. In point of fact, it was published by Harper & Row. It is not a Greenwillow book. So ignore that part of the podcast but do NOT disregard the petition. They would love it if they could get you on board so that William can meet a whole new generation of fans:

https://www.change.org/p/harper-collins-reillustrate-william-s-doll-for-today-s-kids

Show Notes:

- William Pène du Bois was from (and we love this city name) Nutley, New Jersey. Interestingly, he did live in France for a time, and ultimately died in Nice, France.

- "Brown plaid brilliance!" Kate would like to clarify that she was trying to say that Diane von Furstenberg designed the grandmother's wrap dress. And Betsy takes back what she said about the woman's shoes. Those aren't "sensible" at all. They're gorgeous. By the way, we never ever see her face either, a fact Kate and Betsy both missed.

- Let us point out that even this animated sequence from Free to Be You and Me has William wearing more appropriate clothing than in the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lshobg1Wt2M

- For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/11/19/fuse-8-n-kate-williams-doll-by-charlotte-zolotow-ill-william-pene-du-bois/

We're just going to give away the game and break down exactly how this podcast plays out between Kate and Betsy. As you will recall, Bets is a parent of two small children. Kate is not. So when the two sisters read this book, Kate became a full-throated supported of Team Mouse, while Betsy put all of her money down on Team Run-Ragged Kid. Listen and you'll hear how clearly delineated the line is between parents and non-parents.

Show Notes:

- We were actually able to find the Peanuts strip that referenced this book. And voila. From May 25th, 1995: https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1995/05/25

- Here are the sequels mentioned:

If You Give a Moose a Muffin

If You Give a Pig a Pancake

If You Give a Take a Mouse to the Movies

If You Give a Take a Mouse to School

If You Give a Pig a Party

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake

If You Give a Dog a Donut

If You Give a Give a Mouse a Brownie

"If You Give a Bird a Bundt Cake", Kate's suggestion, is completely up for grabs if anyone wants to write that.

- We know you wanted to see it. Here is Michelle Obama reading the book in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZuCPWjCdgY

- Here's the post from I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? for If You Give a Gay Mouse a Cookie: https://www.leewind.org/2014/12/if-you-give-gay-mouse-cookie-zine-that.html

- Back by popular demand . . . Children's Stories Made Horrific: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie: http://the-toast.net/2014/01/08/give-the-mouse-nothing/

- Honestly, we're amazed that in our searching we somehow missed The Toast's fellow piece where the book is interpreted by Ayn Rand: http://the-toast.net/2015/08/11/ayn-rand-gives-a-mouse-nothing/

For the full Show Notes, please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/11/12/fuse-8-n-kate-if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie-by-laura-joffe-numeroff

Since Kate had such strong feelings about Madeline and Eloise, Betsy figured that they would have to go with what she considered to be the third in the triumvirate of . . . let’s call ’em strong-minded ladies. If ever you’ve wanted to know the difference between miniature pigs, pot-bellied pigs, and razorback pigs, boy, have we got the podcast for you! Kate and Betsy talk about who the most famous female pig in children’s literature is (honestly, we’ve nothing against Peppa, but wasn’t she a television star first?), which book you’d want to club someone to death with (OED for the win!), and whether or not Shel Silverstein had “a treacly streak” (he did).

Show Notes:

– Here’s the New Yorker series Betsy referred to when she spoke about Ian Falconer. The blog post was called New Yorker/Picture Book Artists: Ian Falconer – Beyond Olivia: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2011/09/08/new-yorkerpicture-book-artists-ian-falconer-beyond-olivia/

– The blog Spirit of the Bees back in 2009 did just the loveliest post by a grandmother about how she helped turn her two and a half-year-old granddaughter into the paper bag monster: http://spiritofbees.blogspot.com/2009/01/you-wish-is-my-command.html

– Came in at #54 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/25/top-100-picture-books-54-olivia-by-ian-falconer/

- For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/11/05/fuse-8-n-kate-olivia-by-ian-falconer

What better time to introduce Kate to the work of Dave McKean than when it's almost Halloween! Betsy tries to give her sister a good dose of nightmare fuel, but somehow the two just end up talking about what an old wolf melody would sound like and whether Dave McKean has ever drawn a bunny (he has... and it's weird).

Source Notes:

- There was indeed a virtual reality version of The Wolves in the Walls. Variety Magazine had the scoop, and they even made a trailer for it. Behold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLp07Grch-o

- The video quality is not the best, but this will give you some sense of the stage production of The Wolves in the Walls that occurred: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_P4AxAagHU

- As Betsy mentioned, this past weekend she interviewed Adam Gidwitz at SLJ's Summit. His new podcast Grimm Grimmer Grimmest is more than a little delightful. Do check it out: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/grimm-grimmer-grimmest/id1436651521?mt=2

- For the full Show Notes, please visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/10/29/fuse-8-n-kate-the-wolves-in-the-walls-by-neil-gaiman-ill-dave-mckean/

If you've ever listened to this podcast then you'll know that when it comes to readalouds, that particular kind of a picture book is a little difficult to convey. Fortunately, Kate immediately interprets the cover of today's book, before reading it, as a story about a gigantic, 24-ft tall pumpkin rolling towards a little old lady, Indiana Jones boulder-style, and everything takes off from there on in. In the course of our conversation, Betsy reveals who actually made this book (not something widely known), the problem of naked ghosts, suits of armor fighting Nazis, and something that at one point causes Kate to say, "You are an idiot. I hope the gloves choke you to death!"

Source Notes:

- Is Betsy the only who truly, and honestly, loves the ending of the film of Bedknobs & Broomsticks? Let's watch it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0rRPU_cvGg

-Kate's been kind enough to share her rum cake recipe with us all. It did look amazing, sitting there on her counter when I arrived. I was very good. I didn't even take a bite. Find the recipe here: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17456/golden-rum-cake/

- For full show notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/10/22/fuse-8-n-kate-the-little-old-lady-who-was-not-afraid-of-anything-by-linda-williams

Older holiday books for kids have a tendency to be a bit on the white side. So Betsy was thinking she was pretty slick when I came up with A Tiger Called Thomas for today's discussion. But here's the thing; she thought the version illustrated by Diana Cain Bluthenthal was the only one out there. She was unaware that this book hadn't just been re-illustrated once but has FOUR different artists! Just to make all of this clear from the start, the four versions discussed on this podcast are:

A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Kurt Werth (1963)

A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Catherine Stock (1988)

A Tiger Called Thomas by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Diana Cain Bluthenthal (2003)

A Tiger Called Tomás by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguéns (2018)

- This is not the first time Betsy has gone into a full-blown William's Doll rant. It's not mentioned in the podcast but the real difference here is publishers. William's Doll came out with Greenwillow. Thomas, in contrast, was originally published by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., then by Hyperion, and now by Sourcebooks. It bounces around!

- Has a purely Photoshopped book ever won a Caldecott? We call upon you, my readers, to help us come up with the answer to this.

- Here are the trolls that Kate saw at the Morton Arboretum: http://www.mortonarb.org/events/troll-hunt

- For the full Show Notes, please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/10/15/fuse-8-n-kate-a-tiger-called-thomas-by-charlotte-zolotow