Fuse 8 n' Kate

We're killing two birds with one stone this week (pun reluctantly intended). A reader suggested today's book a long time ago. Add in the fact that it's October and we should be doing some Halloween-themed titles and you've got yourself today's latest edition of International Classic Picture Books. Take a trip to Germany to visit one of the loveliest, softest books about life and death out there. Maybe it's not classic Halloween fare, but we like it.

Source Notes:

- For the curious, here is the video of the weatherman's map going crazy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0jOen1G-E8

- There really are countless videos about today's book. Here are some of the standouts:

First, the quiet animated short film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd5Y2xj71f0

Next, a trailer for a rather lovely version that played in Edinburgh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueQ2glggAX0

And finally, one from a country we've yet to identify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrqB64E6roA

- The Romper article in question was called Why Duck, Death and the Tulip Is a Cult Favorite Among Authors: https://www.romper.com/p/why-duck-death-the-tulip-is-a-cult-favorite-among-authors-9599161

- Meanwhile the Brain Pickings article was Duck, Death and the Tulip: An Uncommonly Tender Illustrated Meditation On the Cycle of Life: https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/05/04/duck-death-and-the-tulip-wolf-erlbruch/

- Betsy Recommends: White Knight by Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth.

- Kate Recommends: CoriTaylorMN on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CoriTaylorMN?ref=shop_sugg

For full Show Notes, please visit us at: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/10/09/fuse-8-n-kate-duck-death-and-the-tulip-by-wolf-erlbruch/

Happy October! We open this month of hauntings and spirits with a book about a terribly frightening monster! And by "terribly frightening" I mean "terribly frightened". Inspired by their discussion of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Betsy pulls out the 4th wall breaking title that started the whole American genre in the first place. Consider too the fact that this is a Sesame Street book and Mo Willems, who would later write that pigeon book, used to work for Sesame Street. By the way, let us just say this before you listen: If you are unfamiliar with Sesame Street in any way, this may not be the episode for you. In the course of things Kate and Betsy get into a very heated discussion about whether or not grouches are monsters, typography, hidden frustrations with Little Golden Books, and whether or not this book reveals "Grover's truth" (how self-reflective is Grover, really?).

Show Notes:

- For those of you keeping track at home, the sequels to this book have included the titles Hide and Seek with Lovable Furry Old Grover, Please Do Not Open This Book, and Lovable Furry Old Grover's Resting Places.

- This is very much turning into an app recommendation podcast. Nevertheless, we really do have a deep and abiding affection for the one that goes with this book. It can be very difficult to resist the urge to have Grover speak directly to your child. Very difficult indeed: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-monster-at-the-end/id409467802?mt=8

For the full Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/10/01/fuse-8-n-kate-the-monster-at-the-end-of-this-book-by-jon-stone/

Kate worried that there wouldn't be enough to talk about with this week's podcast because the featured book is so simple in both text and image. Little did she know!!! What happens when an adult woman reads this book for the first time and is told that many consider it a modern day classic? Oh. Let's find out. Along the way Kate questions the shenanigans (her word) of the bus driver, why the pigeon never has eyelashes (does Mo have something against them?), whether or not the bird is Slytherin, and Betsy begins to focus on what the prior relationship between the driver and the pigeon is exactly.

Source Notes:

- The Ray Bradbury story referred to about the girl who misses the one day of sun on her planet was "All Summer In a Day": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Summer_in_a_Day

- If you'd like to see the precise words of what the Caldecott criteria is, you can go here: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottterms/caldecottterms

- While Betsy could not find the locker room sequence at the end of the Weston Woods video on YouTube, the good news is that for the first time Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is now appearing on Bookflix. Does your library subscribe? It might! Find out from your local children's librarian and then watch the whole video there. You'll be glad you did.

- Betsy cannot tell you how happy she is that this app Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App is back up and running: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dont-let-pigeon-run-this-app/id459749670?mt=8

- The Indies Choice Book Awards Picture Book Hall of Fame: https://www.bookweb.org/btw/awards/ICBA.html

- We're happy to report that actually this book didn't beat The Very Hungry Caterpillar on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll. But it did beat Goodnight Moon: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/07/06/top-100-picture-books-poll-results/

- Curious about this Grace Lin podcast? Check out the Kidlitwomen podcast site here: https://www.kidlitwomen.com/http/kidlitwomenpodcastlibsyncom/

- Which of our transcripts would people like to read? Let us know and Kate will type them out.

- For the full Show Notes please visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/09/25/fuse-8-n-kate-dont-let-the-pigeon-drive-the-bus-by-mo-willems/

This week Betsy and Kate have pretty much found the bloodiest Caldecott Honor winner out there (though you're allowed to try to find one bloodier if you'd like to prove them wrong). Technically blood never mars the pages, but you can pretty much assume what's happening off-screen, as it were. And it's a fantastic introduction to the autumn season! Win-win! In the course of things, Kate and Betsy debate the degree to which Mr. and Mrs. Fox are starving their children, what precisely is going on with the Giggle-Gaggle household, and what a "skulk"/"leash" is.

Show Notes:

- The Burl Ives version of the Fox song is slightly different from the one Betsy is accustomed to, but it's clearly the same thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=jSaTOI7u8Ds

- - The Peter, Paul, and Mary version is the one Betsy's actually working off of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4mwg40c2SU

- Good news! On teachingbooks.net you can find a lot of children's author and illustrators names and their pronunciations. Here is Peter Spier himself pronouncing his name. Turns out, the show got it mostly right! https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=947

- And if you're in a mood to listen to even more pronunciations, Merriam-Webster doing "ouabain" truly is a treat: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ouabain

- We're just so thrilled that the new Evanston children's bookstore Booked is slated to open September 21st. All those of you in town, stop by! https://www.bookedevanston.com/

- We checked Snopes and it turns out that Steve Buscemi, former firefighter, really did help out on 9/11: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/steve-buscemi-fdny/

- For the full set of Show Notes please visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/09/17/review-of-the-day-the-fox-went-out-on-a-chilly-night-by-peter-spier

Didn't Kate and Betsy just do a Robert McCloskey book? They did, but it was not his most famous work. In spite of the fact that Betsy springs the tale of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard on her poor unsuspecting sister the two somehow manage to say a LOT about it! Vicious egg-eating turtles and all.

Show Notes:

- Just in case you're curious, the Twitter handle for this show is @fuse_kate and on Instagram at fuse8kate.

- You can visit sculptor Nancy Schon's website on the ducklings here: http://www.schon.com/public/ducklings-boston.php

- A bit of a correction here. Betsy got her story COMPLETELY mixed up. The true tale is that McCloskey saw Nixon somewhere (this being 1941 we've no idea where), noted his profile, and decided to use it for the book. So the theory that it's one of the kids was way WAY off. Read more about this at the ALSC blog: https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2012/10/wheres-dick/

- It came in at #6 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/06/20/top-100-picture-books-6-make-way-for-ducklings-by-robert-mccloskey/

- Please do tell us what you consider to be the most unknown Caldecott Award (not Honor) winner of all time. Write in!

- And as a reminder, if you've nothing going on this coming Thursday at 3:00, tune in to Author's Voice where Betsy will be interviewing, Sean Rubin, the creator of Bolivar. It's a great way to get a signed copy (and not a bad idea if you need a graphic novel for a younger reader that would make yet another gorgeous holiday present). You can watch live, order the book, and write in questions here: http://authorsvoice.net/event/ladybird-friends-sean-rubin-bolivar/

- Full the full Show Notes visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/09/10/fuse-8-n-kate-make-way-for-ducklings-by-robert-mccloskey/

Fiiiiiiiiiish . . .

An aquatic creature that has absolutely NOTHING to do with this week's book!

So first and foremost, we are happy to announce that we now have our very own Twitter and Instagram accounts for this podcast. Woot! So tune in on Twitter @fuse_kate or on Instagram at fuse8kate. As for the podcast itself, Kate was semi-familiar with this book already. But did she remember anything about it at all? No, sir! As it turns out, we were able to really dive into some of the details. Will we determine it's a classic? Time will tell!

Source Notes:

- How much sugar does it take to can blueberries? The internet has many opinions on the subject but generally speaking it appears that you want to add 1/2 Cup of sugar for each quart of berries. That's not a ton of sugar. I guess Mom really worked double time while Sal was AWOL.

- How fast can a little bear run? Hard to say. A grown bear can get up to 40 miles an hour. We have to assume that a baby bear just wouldn't have that kind of speed. So even if it began to get ideas about the deliciousness of Mom, it's not happening.

- Here's something we didn't mention during the podcast, but there is a Blueberries for Sal statue out there. It was listed in the Fuse #8 website's Complete Listing of All Public Children’s Literature Statues in the United States. Located in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, the statue is by Nancy Schön, the same woman who did the Make Way for Duckling Statues in Boston. In 2008 she was commissioned by the Board of Directors of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens to make a sculpture of Little Bear from the book Blueberries for Sal by the author Robert McCloskey. The result is this cute little feller who is surrounded by actual honest-to-goodness blueberry bushes. You can read more about it and see Ms. Schön’s process here: http://www.schon.com/public/sals-bear.php

- We had to check out what the heck "King of Tokyo" really is. So, you know Wil Wheaton (from Star Trek)? He started this YouTube series where he walks through how to play board games with celebrity friends of his and he did one for "King of Tokyo" - if you want to know what it's about, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGaCjM2hal4

For the complete Show Notes, please visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/09/03/fuse-8-n-kate-blueberries-for-sal-by-robert-mccloskey/

I think this is the clearest case of Betsy pulling out a book for Kate that is well-known amongst children's librarians and is pretty obscure when you talk to your average layperson on the street. If for no other reason, you should listen to this episode of our podcast to hear Kate's exclamation of pure confusion and tiny squeaks of bafflement when Betsy mentions how well it did on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll (it was #14). So sit back and enjoy as the sisters discuss the logistics of how exactly one would get a blue cap off of this guy, where his fingers suddenly emerge from, how exactly you pronounce, "Tsz, tsz, tsz," and why anyone, anywhere would put on a hat previously worn by a monkey.

Show Notes:

- Gentle listeners and readers, we really do want to know. How do you pronounce, "Tsz, tsz, tsz"?

- Since this book was influenced by the work of Henri Rousseau, why not check out this picture book biography of him, The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau? http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/11/06/review-of-the-day-the-fantastic-jungles-of-henri-rousseau-by-michelle-markel/

- Why Mathematicians are Hoarding This Special Type of Japanese Chalk: https://gizmodo.com/why-mathematicians-are-hoarding-this-special-type-of-ja-1711008881

- And last but by far not least, a new podcast! The Newbery Tart podcast has much to recommend it, not least of which is a list of living Newbery Authors. If you enjoy podcasts that take deep dives into subjects pertaining to children's literature, this is a can't miss listen: https://www.newberytart.com/podcast/

For full Show Notes please visit http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/08/27/fuse-8-n-kate-caps-for-sale-by-esphyr-slobodkina

Thanks to a listener suggestion, Kate and Betsy finally crack open the Henkes box. And when you're talking Henkes, there's only one place to start. Now I should warn you right from the start that Betsy makes an egregious error in this podcast. That's right. She makes the claim that Julius, Baby of the World was published AFTER Purple Plastic Purse. On the flipside, this podcast may be the first time anyone has ever noted the presence of Ignatz Mouse from Krazy Kat in this book.

And as Kate says about the story, "It's not about the purse".

Show Notes:

- We believe Kevin Henkes ran into Susan Hirschman when he traipsed in as a stars-in-his-eyes teen. You can read a rather lovely remembrance of this moment in this Horn Book article Kevin Henkes - Twenty-Five Years: https://www.hbook.com/2005/07/choosing-books/horn-book-magazine/kevin-henkes-twenty-five-years/

- Betsy and Kate are happy to hear any alternate titles to this book. The two they've come up with so far are, "Mr. Slinger's Revenge" or "Lilly Undone".

- This book came in at #11 on the Top 100 Picture Books Poll: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/06/15/top-100-picture-books-11-lillys-purple-plastic-purse-by-kevin-henkes/

- The Lilly musical can actually be viewed here in its entirety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20LPjApOAo

- Here is the link to the piece I found on Teaching Children Philosophy: https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/BookModule/LillysPurplePlasticPurse

For the full show notes, please visit Betsy's blog at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/08/13/fuse-8-n-kate-lillys-purple-plastic-purse-by-kevin-henkes

How do you follow up The Giving Tree? Well, that's a tricky one. We don't know why Amelia Bedelia occurred to Betsy. She's so ubiquitous that no one ever really questions her presence on classic book lists. Still, the more we thought about her, the more we wondered if she really warrants inclusion in the "canon" of children's literature (howsoever you define that).

Show Notes:

- Here is her fantastic statue, located at the Harvin Clarendon County Library in Manning, South Carolina. This was sculpted by James Peter Chaconas: https://scpictureproject.org/clarendon-county/amelia-bedelia-statue.html

- Sometimes the best thing in the whole wide world is getting to see a group of boys reenact Amelia Bedelia without the one playing the lead feeling at all embarrassed about his awesome performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uESgbsQAlEI

- Here you can find the Daily Dot piece I Accidentally Started a Wikipedia Hoax? https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/amelia-bedelia-wikipedia-hoax/

-And be sure to check out Minh Le's 2013 Bookriot piece Zooey Deschanel as Amelia Bedelia: A (Hypothetical) Match Made in Quirk Heaven: https://bookriot.com/2013/06/04/zooey-deschanel-as-amelia-bedelia-a-hypothetical-match-made-in-quirk-heaven/

- Grace Lin's newest podcast is Kidlit Women. Check it out today! She does transcripts and everything! https://www.kidlitwomen.com/http/kidlitwomenpodcastlibsyncom/

- For the full Show Notes please visit us at http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/08/06/fuse-8-n-kate-amelia-bedelia-by-peggy-parish

It's very special episode day today! Kate and Betsy are celebrating their 50th episode (where does the time go?). It seemed fitting that they mark the occasion with an important book. There are so many titles that they still haven't done that could yield wonderful conversations. As such, it seems fitting that they finally do the most requested book of their podcast. In the course of things they also manage to come up with a connection between this and Harold and the Purple Crayon, discuss how this tale may be told in 3rd Tree Perspective, and introduce the world to the medical condition we like to call "Jules Feiffer feet".

Source Notes:

- For fun, check out the Travis Jonker interview with the photographs of Shel Silverstein. Best thing you'll read all day: http://100scopenotes.com/2017/05/12/a-conversation-with-shel-silverstein/

- Betsy wasn't wrong, by the way. Giving Tree Groot truly exists: https://geektyrant.com/news/guardians-of-the-galaxy-and-the-giving-tree-mashup

- Just a plug. Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature does indeed contain a two-page spread of quotes from children's book creators on The Giving Tree. One page Pro. The other one Con.

- Go here if you'd like to read "The Giving Tree at 50: Sadder Than I Remembered": https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/giving-tree-50-sadder-remembered

- Harper Collins actually collected a lot of Giving Tree tattoos on their Pinterest page here: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5699937005646084/

- Want to read the biography "A Boy Named Shel"? Why not just wait for the film Coming soon to a theater near you starring, I kid you not, James Franco: http://collider.com/james-franco-a-boy-named-shel-silverstein/#images

- Sassy Gay Friend meets The Giving Tree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYQavD9mSIc

- Shel Silverstein reads The Giving Tree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE

- Feel free to read Giving Tree Made Horrific here: http://the-toast.net/2013/11/13/gifts-giving-tree/

- The full text from "If the Boy From The Giving Tree Was Your Boyfriend" can be found here: http://the-toast.net/2015/07/20/boy-from-the-giving-tree-boyfriend/

- And we didn't discuss it but long ago I offered a challenge for folks to reillustrate Dr. Seuss titles in the style of other illustrators. This one from illustrator Aaron Zenz was, to my mind, one of the most brilliant: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/03/01/re-seussification-project-the-results/

For full show notes visit: http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2018/07/31/fuse-8-n-kate-the-giving-tree-by-shel-silverstein/